


Consequences

by sparklight



Series: Space Race [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-15
Updated: 2016-01-11
Packaged: 2018-04-26 13:45:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 66
Words: 60,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5006983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparklight/pseuds/sparklight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU spinning from the consequences of Owen allowing Luke to apply to the Academy, sending Luke running off thanks to a warning when Vader finds out he has a son. Things... go from there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Academy I

**Author's Note:**

> All of this is written in interconnected ficlets, so the individual "chapters" are short!

Luke jerked awake in the darkness of the barracks, the air filled with quiet snoring, mutters and shifting of fourteen other bodies. 

His heart was racing, his hands shook, _aching_ with how tight he was clutching the sheets and _he needed to leave_. The air was pressing in, bearing down on him with the single, screaming imperative that he wasn't _safe_.

Swallowing bile, Luke slowly unclenched his hands and pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes, sending colourful starbursts into the darkness behind his eyelids. He couldn't just _leave_! He was two and a half months away from graduating, and he'd _just_ gotten through the accusations of cheating on the flight simulators... even if there'd been that worrying warning of 'watching you, _Skywalker_ ' and he was sure he'd heard the headmaster mutter something about sending the tests higher up. But aside from that worrying incident two weeks ago now, which so far hadn't brought any negative consequences, he wasn't even sure he'd be able to graduate at the level he needed for TIE fighter pilot training.

To be honest, at this point he wasn't sure he _wanted_ to. 

All he'd wanted to do was learn to _fly_ , after all, and he wasn't particularly fond of the Empire or the military structure of the Academy, but giving up, at the same time...

His breathing wasn't slowing down. 

His heart was still hammering away and his gut was twisting itself into knots. He wished he could talk to Biggs, but Biggs' father had made sure his son had gotten into one of the more prestigious Academies... frowning into his hands, Luke wondered if he was imagining that even, raspy breathing.

It reminded him of his dream---

No, he'd just imagined it. For a moment every noise in the large room had just coalesced into that strange, reverberating noise. Another whiplash of _warning_ cracked through him and Luke had rolled out of the bed and was struggling into his pants before he even thought about it. The past months that feeling had started cropping up the longer he was at the academy, and he'd learned to _listen_ but... 

But if he _left now_...

Staring at the vague outline of his hands clutching the rumpled sheets on his bed, Luke couldn't move. But he also couldn't _stay_ and he wasn't even sure _why_. 

_Run_. The word was banging against the inside of his head and he couldn't _think_. 

He had the bag over his shoulder and was staggering out the door before he was entirely aware of what he was doing.


	2. Academy II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vader finds out about certain... relations.

Usually, dealing with suspected cheaters was the prerogative of individual Academies and nothing for the headmaster of all of them, yet here he was, staring at the records of one cadet in particular. He'd have deleted the whole thing and had the headmaster of the Arkanis Sector Academy fired and demoted for his incompetence if it wasn't for a few incriminating facts held within the data of the file.

Usually, this information would also be sent onwards to someone who'd inform interested parties, and then he would be informed of what was to be done.

Headmaster and former Navy Admiral Janus Mar'lath, on the other hand, put the datapad down on his desk, activated the holocomm, and entered a completely different frequency than what he was 'supposed' to.

It took more than five minutes for the call to be answered, but Mar'lath was unconcerned. This frequency only had one priority alert, and that from Imperial Centre.

"Admiral. What is it?" the irritation grating in the voice was warning enough, and Mar'lath held up his datapad in lieu of greeting.

"I would like to send over information for a suspected cheater found in one of our Sector Academies, Lord Vader. The results from the simulations and physicals far outstrip standard deviations. There's also additional results from a standard blood test, which show some very _non-standard_ deviations."

The dark lord stared quietly for a moment, his breathing the only thing being transmitted, before he tilted his helm and bent over the datapad the file had been transferred to.

As Mar'lath watched, lord Vader stilled. Even his respirator seemed to be pulled out of its normal cycle, stalling a moment too long before a new breath was drawn in sharply. The holo didn't give a wide view of the room Vader was in, but Mar'lath was sure he could hear something cracking.

"Make sure the cadet isn't punished before I can get there, Admiral. And have all information regarding him erased."

He didn't blink, didn't hesitate.

"Of course, Lord Vader. I'll inform the headmaster of the Arkanis Sector Academy that you're coming." The call had, however, already terminated when he'd gotten to 'inform', and Mar'lath stared quietly at the dark device before he turned the holo off and rubbed a thumb along the edge of the datapad, glancing down at the name heading up the cadet's file.

'Luke Skywalker' blinked not-so-innocently up at him, and Mar'lath wondered why the file hadn't been sent onwards the second the young man had been accepted to the Academy, if for nothing else than to check his background. While there were quite a few 'Skywalkers' in the galaxy, the name of the young man's father was quite singular. 

Well, that was no longer his concern; lord Vader would deal with the spawn of the Hero With No Fear as he wished.


	3. Academy III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke starts to plan his escape.

Heart hammering in his chest and feeling slightly dizzy from what he supposed was anxiety - an anxiety he still didn't understand where it was coming from - Luke wove through empty corridors, going around the ones he saw – or could just _tell_ \- had people nearby. The exit he chose wasn't the closest one, but the side door had a glitchy lock which ensured it wasn't hooked up properly to the building alarm, and then he dashed across the quad. Pausing in the shadow of the main building, Luke dragged a hand through his hair and looked around.

The sky above was partly cloudy, revealing glimpses of the three moons above, and the buildings were only lit by their night-time activity.

Standing here and shivering in a cool night breeze, Luke wondered, and not for the first time, why he'd thought this had been a good idea. This hadn't been a particularly good half year, and while it still felt like giving up, he could finally admit that he'd only gone to the Academy because it'd seemed like the most straightforward way off of Tatooine. Uncle Owen would've been even less likely to agree if he'd just tried to sign up with the crew of some random merchant vessel in Mos Eisley or Bestine...

And that, anyway, wasn't what he wanted from flying _either_.

But now... well, how was he supposed to get off the planet? Taking a few deep, even breaths and closing his eyes, concentrating on the rush of blood in his veins and trying to ignore the hammering of his heart until it actually started to slow down, Luke tried to think.

Stealing a ship wasn't something he wanted to do, and it'd add just more reason for the Academy to come after him. The next best thing was---

A cold, sharp thrill suddenly shot through him and Luke jerked, snapping his eyes open and looking around wildly. There was...

There was a Lambda shuttle coming in for a landing.

Staring up at the dark shape against the darker sky, his gut twisted. 

Something was on that shuttle... Shaking his head, Luke couldn't tell if it was the last strains of fear and anxiety or if it was something else, but the sense of needing to _leave_ still hung like a looming sandstorm and with a last look at the shuttle he darted over to the hangar that kept the speeder bikes.

He'd just borrow one of them into the nearest settlement with a space port, leave the bike with the stormtrooper garrison in the settlement, and try to work from there.

That ought to work, right?


	4. Academy IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vader arrives at the Academy, is frustrated.

"Did it not occur to you that you should make sure he wouldn't be able to leave before I arrived? Or did you perhaps _want_ to be executed on charges of aiding and abetting a potential Jedi?"

So. close.

That was the only thought thundering through his head as he slammed the headmaster of the Arkanis Sector Academy against the wall behind his desk and the only reason he wasn't yet letting go _completely_ and punish the man for his failure was that it wasn't too late. The child was still on the planet, he was utterly sure of that.

"I--- We thought it best to--- ahh--- to minimise suspicion! We'll lock down the planet and find him!" the man wheezed, clawing at his throat, and Vader snarled and dropped him.

"Where's the surveillance from the barracks?"

He needed to know how the boy had known to flee. It couldn't have come from the staff at the Academy; they had merely investigated possible cheating and then released him back amongst his fellow cadets when they could find no proof. Well, no proof but what wouldn't be dealt with before the information was sent further on. 

So how, then, was Luke Skywalker not sleeping snugly in his bed, to be pulled from it by the guards come to fetch him? The holo he was given by a harried-looking man in a nonetheless-spotless uniform held no colour - night time didn't allow for such a thing - though it mattered little to _him_.

It wasn't a very interesting image, all in all, but suddenly one of the sleeping young men jerked as if he'd been shot, and while nothing happened for a few more moments, he then rolled out of the bed, moving with a frantic sloppiness that spoke of being driven... Then he picked up a bag, threw some things in it and stormed out of the room.

Staring at the recording as it looped around, Darth Vader had no way of knowing it for certain, but something whispered _Kenobi_ at him. His Master would laugh and call him unreasonably paranoid and hung up on his former Master, but Vader was sure. Obi-Wan was at fault, _somehow_ , wherever he was.

This time, he wouldn't win.

"See to it that you succeed, General. It is in your best interest that you do so," Vader snapped and whirled around, striding out of the room. He wasn't going to wait anywhere _near_ such failure (mostly because he might give in to the urge to choke the man) and maybe there were other ways than the purely mundane to find his son.


	5. Academy V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke escapes... sort of.

Luke had wasted precious moments to stop after veering into the wilderness off the road to change into the clothes he'd come here in, instead of staying in his Academy uniform. He couldn't _know_ , of course, but it made sense to him that they'd probably look for someone wearing the uniform before anything else. 

He'd also hoped to be able to simply drive in on the stormtrooper base and leave the speeder bike, but when he got there two hours later, having circled around and avoided the roads as much as possible, the place seemed lit up with activity as if it was in the middle of the day and not two in the morning.

Swallowing nervously, he decided to just drop the bike off at the back, hoping no one would see him. Killing the engine, he jumped off and slowly started to walk, keeping to the shadows and the underbrush several meters away from the fence. And maybe luck was with him, because there were no guards patrolling when he came by, and he (barely) managed to avoid one of the cameras. He left the bike close enough that sooner or later, it should be spotted by the regular patrols that would come by, but partly hidden between a rock and some bushes to make sure it wasn't seen _immediately_.

Getting to the spaceport proved far more _difficult_ , than dropping the speeder bike off, though. Circling back around the base and walking for half an hour to get to the warehouse district, Luke glanced around nervously. It was mostly empty and dirty, but the people around that he _could_ see weren't any he wanted to meet up close.

But he dropped his shoulders, breathed in and walked like he did when he'd had to get past one of the swoop gangs when they burst into Anchorhead, or past any of Jabba's off-duty guards. Carried his bag as if he had an errand, and with a particular air that kept people's eyes from sliding past him instead of fastening _on_ what was obviously an easy target. 

And the closer he got to the spaceport proper, the easier it got to blend in with the crowd of angry men and women who were trying to argue against a... lock down? Biting his lip and feeling his stomach turn on itself, as he backed away and ducked under the arms of the knot of people that had stood closer to the stormtroopers than was entirely clever of him to approach, Luke wondered if he should just go back. 

He hadn't actually cheated, after all, and even if he was well on the way to enact a desertion, it should, could, still be okay, couldn't it..?

Barely finishing that thought seemed to make the anxiety from earlier flare up, though, and Luke ducked away around the corner away from the majority of the crowd just in time to avoid a patrol despite not having noticed them at all at first.

He needed to... well, he needed to get to one of the ships. 

He knew he didn't have the credits needed to get passage, so it wasn't as if he hadn't already planned on stowing away, but now it'd just be even more necessary, even if he didn't like it. Anyone on the ship officially would, obviously, be searched and checked.

Which meant he would be found out. Looking out into the darkness, the lights of the spaceport proper behind him, Luke sighed. He didn't _want_ to try and stow away, but it seemed like the only option.

Stomach knotting around itself with the anxious, insistent warning that just didn't want to go away, and with a curious tugging on his attention that felt like someone was trying to talk to him but kept missing because they didn't know where he was - or he couldn't precisely hear them - Luke was distracted as he tried to find a way into _any_ docking bay.

A closed-down construction site for repairing an older part of the spaceport got him inside, though he almost fell when he jerked around, sure _someone_ had called his name. The area was completely deserted, though, the space taken up by offline construction droids and other equipment and supplies. A few hacked door locks later and Luke had to start dodging stormtroopers, but strangely enough he seemed to be able to tell where the next patrol would be. It was probably just the nearly painfully heightened awareness from the anxiety, but it sure helped.

He wished he could choose a ship with greater care - he wanted to go home, hug Aunt Beru, but that was probably not a good idea... they'd look there first, he was pretty sure - but as it was, Luke sneaked into the first best thing that didn't look like it was about to fall apart.

Not that that allowed him to _relax_ , since he kept having to move around, both to dodge the crew of the ship and the stormtrooper patrols that just didn't want to give up. Luke wondered if he'd _ever_ get off at this rate...


	6. Academy VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vader continues to be frustrated and thwarted. As you do.

Four days, and Vader was getting increasingly frustrated. How could one boy avoid not only an imperial lock down, but _him_ as well as he was doing? It was utterly, frustratingly _ridiculous_. 

And, perhaps, a tiny bit impressive as well, even if Luke's ability to evade him mostly relied on the very dormant bond between them. He was aware of Luke and that the connection was there (had almost destroyed more than one room realising it _was_ there), but it couldn't be used to trace his son as long as the child wasn't aware of _him_. Partly probably also because Luke wasn't fully aware of his Force potential.

All that, in the end, led to a very short-tempered Sith Lord who was trying to figure out alternate ways of flushing his son out of the woodwork. He needed...

Eyes narrowing behind the mask, Vader tilted his head.

"That... is something..."

"My lord?" the stormtrooper captain beside him snapped to attention, but Vader simply stared out the window.

He knew this presence that had just dared to land on the planet. It was worming underneath his thoughts and scrabbling against an old connection long since cauterised, and he was suddenly torn. 

He could wait until Kenobi found his son and then strike, but risk losing both of them. Or he could go face his former master before that, though there was the risk that Kenobi would be able to contact the child even if he was distracted by Vader.

There was also...

"Captain, inform the Headmaster that he's to lift the lock down incrementally, allowing ships to leave one at a time."

"Yes, my lord."

Vader left the room quickly after that, following the sense of Obi-Wan - he wouldn't allow the traitor to get close to his son, and whether or not Obi-Wan would face him or flee to try again later, this way he'd still be able to tell which ship Luke was on. He might not be able to tell exactly _where_ on the planet the child was, but if he left it completely, he'd know. All he needed after this was one additional bit of information...

"Headmaster, I want the routes and the planned vectors of each ship that leaves," Vader snapped into the comlink and didn't listen to the confirmation as he took a speeder bike, following the raw, angry connection that stunk of patience, sorrow and _betrayal_ that was his former master. He had a feeling their confrontation wouldn't be today, or on this planet, but it _would_ come.


	7. Hitchhike I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke's away from the Academy, but that doesn't mean he's escaped.

He woke up to the deck vibrating under him, but not in the way it did in outer space or hyperspace, but rather the distinct rattle of a ship going through the atmosphere. Not that Luke realised what it was _immediately_ since he really hadn't spent all that much time on spaceships so far, but the understanding slowly wormed itself in between the constant clamp of _cold_ and half-awake awareness. Weaving upright, poncho falling off of him, Luke swallowed the soft swear that wanted to escape.

Quiet. 

He needed to be _quiet_ and _not_ bang his head or any other limb into the containers around him, and he needed to get out as soon as possible when they'd landed. Pulling the poncho over his head and pulling out the last half of the ration bar he had left of the little stash he'd managed to sneak from the ship's galley while avoiding both the intermittent stormtrooper patrols before the ship was allowed to leave _and_ the crew, Luke tried to quell his protesting stomach with a glare.

This would (have to) be enough.

He almost wished he dared to stay on this ship, but if they were going to unload any of the cargo, it'd be easier to simply try and find a new ship instead of playing hide-and-seek with himself again.

Carefully peering out into the cargo hold after the ship had silenced, Luke took a breath. When would it be best to try and sneak out? The hold - one of three, he knew - was currently empty of any crew, but this was a secondary hold with no outwards cargo ramp on its own, only a door out to the ship and a wide set of cargo doors into the larger main hold which did have said ramp.

He'd need to either chance going into the larger hold and go out that way, or run through the ship to get to one of the boarding ramps.

Which would---

"---s unnecessary, we're not smuggling _anything_!" the sharply indignant voice of what, Luke was pretty sure, was the captain came in from the corridor outside, accompanied by the muffled rumble of quite a few feet.

Eyes widening, Luke sunk down behind the containers again.

"You're not suspected of _smuggling_ , Captain. There might be a wanted stowaway."

Luke didn't hear the rest as he was busy climbing over the containers and running over to the door as quietly as he could. Waiting for the noise that indicated the doors into the main cargo hold had opened, he slammed the release for the door into the corridor, and, trying to resist the urge to _run_ , ducked his head out.

Two stormtroopers right at the still-open doors to the main cargo hold, but they were standing with their backs to the corridor, facing into the hold.

He eased himself out, doing his best not to breathe, and walked as softly as he could on the grating - thankfully his soft-soled farmer boots helped here - turning the corner away from the main and secondary cargo holds...

And came face to chest to a Wookiee.

The Wookiee roared and reached for him, but Luke ducked and rolled past and _ran_.

He wasn't sure how he got out without being caught, especially as he barrelled right into another Human talking to a Twi'lek; the ship was an uproar of noise behind him, people yelling in confusion in several languages behind him and Luke just hoped he'd get out of the docking bay before the stormtroopers caught on.

Two steps down the boarding ramp and Luke jumped, stumbling slightly as he landed but straightening up before he fell and he continued running. The night-cold chill of a warning flashing through him had him slamming his shoulder and side into the wall by the doors into the docking bay, only _just_ avoiding the stun shot.

Breath in his throat as he wove around the crowds outside of the docking bay, he wondered if he should just have laid low in the cargo hold, try to move between them while the stormtroopers did their search... Too late now. Ducking around a corner and almost falling head over heels down the stairs, he didn't dare look behind him for how close the stormtroopers were.

He could _hear them_ , yelling for people to get out of the way, but one tiny act of mercy was that no one in front of him was really trying to help them stop him. And then, coming into an intersection of several walkways that led to docking bays and a strip of cantinas below, he stumbled.

Stumbled, and couldn't right himself in time, and the time it'd take to get to his feet and start running again would mean they'd catch up---

A large, brown-furred hand caught him and pulled him up in the same move that it swung him around the owner of the arm, pushing at him to stay in place; hidden, he realised after he stopped trying to trash out of the grip, between a collection of large pipes and the Wookiee itself.

Heart loud in his ears and trying not to breathe as much and probably as loudly as he wanted to, Luke resisted the urge to peer around the tall, furry frame of the Wookiee. The stormtroopers ran into the square-like intersection of walkways, barking questions that cut through the din, and Luke had no idea what sort of response they got, because the crowd was loud, his breathing and heart was as well, and there was wind whistling over the metal.

No one ordered the Wookiee aside and yanked him forward, though.

There were no blasters being fired, and five minutes later, Luke realised he must have missed the stormtroopers leaving the intersection to continue their search.

Slumping against the pipes, Luke looked up into a pair of deep-set eyes set in a face that _should_ have been fierce (especially accompanied by the bowcaster at the Wookiee's hip, hanging from the bandolier across the chest), but the gentle brush against his shoulder and the slight tilt of the head softened the impression and Luke swallowed down his heart and smiled.

"Thanks. _A lot_. Sorry for almost falling on you," Luke said, even if the latter wasn't _strictly_ true. He'd probably have fallen at the Wookiee's feet, not on him if he hadn't kept Luke upright, but it was basically the same thing, right? 

The Wookiee made a soft, growling nose and shook his(? Luke had no idea) head while Luke pulled off his poncho and stuffed it back in the bag. It wasn't much of a disguise, but it'd hopefully throw anyone who knew approximately what they were looking for off at least a _little_.

Rubbing a hand over his hair since it was too short for anything else, Luke looked back up at the Wookiee and smiled again, feeling a little more on an even keel now that his pursuers weren't literally right behind him. He wasn't sure what to do next except for thanking his rescuer again, but the Wookiee got there before him, pressing several credit chips into his hand.

Blinking, Luke looked down, silently counted the credits and looked up to protest, but the Wookiee grabbed him by the shoulder and pointed him down one of the walkways, giving another quiet but definitely commanding groan and a growl. And then he let go and when Luke turned around to at least try and thank him or make him take the credits back, he was already across the intersection and walking down the stairs to the lower strip.

Staring after the tall alien, Luke shifted on his feet as he clutched the credits and then tucked them away, just so he wouldn't lose them or have them immediately stolen. He should run after the Wookiee and give them back...

But the Wookiee had neatly avoided any protests and pointed him in a direction that... what?

Turning around so he could look down the walkway that had been indicated, Luke looked between the stairs the Wookiee had gone down and the walkway, and, with a sigh and a silent thank you, set off down the walkway.


	8. Hitchhike II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The captain of Luke's new ride appears!

The walkway ended at a docking bay, the door open into the space beyond and showing an old, if reasonably well-cared for freighter from, at Luke's best guess, before or early Clone Wars. Standing at the doorway and peering in, Luke wondered if the Wookiee meant he should ask these people for passage, or if he was supposed to backtrack to one of the other two docking bays on this walkway, which were both empty, and simply hide in there...

"So what can I help you with, then?"

Luke jumped, both at the voice and the hand slapping down on his shoulder and turned around, ending up staring at a fair-skinned Human man in a dark, neatly trimmed moustache that made him think of Biggs, though he also sported the beginnings of a goatee... which would probably look better when it had grown in further.

"... do you take passengers?"

One dark eyebrow went up and the man rubbed his chin, looking faintly amused for some reason.

"Where to? We're merchants, not a passenger liner."

Where did he _want_ to go?

... Well, Tatooine, but that was probably not a good idea. And he didn't have a clue where to go besides that, or what to do... he wished he had someone to _ask_. Maybe he could just comm his aunt and uncle on the next planet he got to? So, with a one-shoulder shrug and a glance out over the spaceport spreading out below and beyond the walkway they were on, he looked back up at the man.

"Your next stop?" Luke, realising the slight tolerant amusement was slowly dropping away, bit his lip, "I can work for it, too, but I have credits to pay, I just... need to go elsewhere." He didn't even have a clue which planet this _was_...

"You're not going to want to get off at our _next_ stop," the man said, one corner of his mouth twisting into something like dry amusement, "but I might be willing to work out something for you to come along to our second one... let's say 600 credits."

"550," Luke said, trying not to sound as surprised as he _was_ , because he'd definitely expected a higher price than _that_ \- but even with that, he'd almost be out of credits after this, and that included the _very_ generous gift the Wookiee had given him.

"Hmm... bringing trouble." That wasn't a question, and Luke ducked his head away from the piercing stare, unable to deny it. "All right. And since you offered to work, you can help us finish loading the cargo."

Blinking, Luke looked up, staring up at the man. He hadn't... expected that. At all. Or the hand suddenly offered him after he handed him the credits.

"Talon Karrde."

"Luke..." trailing off as he saw the slight twitch of Karrde's head and the arch of one eyebrow, Luke didn't follow up with the rest of his name. It felt _weird_ , but he supposed he understood the reasoning. No matter that it would be a very flimsy excuse if the ship was confronted with his name and a description of him. It was still something, he supposed.


	9. Hitchhike III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corellia is left behind, and just in time.

Luke was honestly surprised (again) when Karrde had stuck a bowl in his hands after they were finished loading the last of the cargo, but the reply had been a shrug and a tiny smile along with the words 'you helped, you get a share'.

A share, in this case, being food. Which he was all too happy to take, even if more than one of the crew laughed at his enthusiasm. He took it with a shade less grace than he maybe should have, but he'd ended up smiling, still. It wasn't as if he was about to explain _why_ he was so hungry.

Sitting there with the empty bowl in his lap and three of the crew still by the table playing sabacc until it was their timeslot to take off, Luke was, slowly, starting to get aware of an itch in the back of his head.

Not an actual, need-to-scratch itch, but the sort of tingling that wasn't exactly the chill of _warning_ he'd been getting these last few months, and most particularly these last few _days_. No, it was like... Glancing up at the ceiling above, Luke got up, put his bowl where indicated and started wandering.

He felt restless, like he needed to move---

Oh.

Swallowing, he took off through the corridors of the freighter at a jog. There was no need to run, not yet. Maybe. He wasn't even sure if he could convince Karrde to leave (or if it was possible to get your spot bumped up), but he had to _try_.

The itch was now spreading down, not quite the anxiety from that night he'd woken up at the Academy with, but certainly threatening to become the same.

There was only Karrde and a female Togruta navigator in the cockpit, and Luke dithered for a moment before he walked inside, resisting the urge to get distracted by the controls. Karrde glanced up from the datapad he was reading and waved an expansive hand around the cockpit.

"Have a look around, but leave Ehsenn to her work."

Luke nodded and despite having told himself he wouldn't, did peer around the controls, eyeing the pilot and co-pilot seats closely. If he wasn't almost twitching with the need to _move_ , Luke knew he could probably have sat down and flown them right out of there.

Well... with some learning curve. He was good with ships, he'd noticed, but while he didn't exactly need the same sort of instructions others got, he still needed to learn the controls.

"Any way we could leave earlier?" Luke asked, staring out the viewport at the inner wall of the docking bay instead of turning around, but he had the distinct feeling both Ehsenn and Karrde had stopped what they were doing to stare at him. Or maybe at each other, he didn't have eyes in the back of his head, after all.

"Changing timeslots are much too expensive, even if the Corellian spaceport authority are all too happy to take bribes," Karrde said with an amused snort, and Luke bit his lip, "we're taking off in two hours. Are you really in _that_ much of a hurry?" More dry, nearly indulgent amusement, and Luke felt a flash of annoyance, but managed to push it down.

"You're going to want to leave before that," Luke said and turned around, looking up at Karrde and tried to look convincing and not like he was pleading, but he wasn't sure it worked.

"And you figure this how? Your trouble?" Eyes narrowed now, Karrde was staring at him in a way Luke realised meant potential danger, but he decided to forge on, nervously dragging a hand through his hair.

"I _don't know_. It's just... if we want to leave, uh, Corellia at all, you're going to want to do it _soon_ and not in two hours," frowning, Luke stuck his chin out, "look, I'm not stupid. You have cargo you don't want the Imperials to find, don't you?"

Karrde and Ehsenn both stilled, tension tightening their bodies, and Luke decided it was better to continue quickly. Very quickly.

"And if they lock down before you leave, no matter the reason, and start searching ships..." trailing off, Luke didn't know what to say or do next, and shifted on his feet, trying to keep from wringing his hands.

"... and where does this inside information come from?" Karrde's eyes were hard now, Luke just shook his head and started at him, spreading his hands.

"I don't got any inside information! It's just this---" he cut off, blushing.

"Feeling?" Ehsenn said, the white, jagged line of her facial marking that covered one of her eyebrow ridges raising. Strangely enough, though, she didn't sound entirely disbelieving. Luke looked to her and shrugged again.

"... yeah. It's, um. Been a thing. Lately," he muttered and stared at the floor, feeling the prickling anxiousness of the not-quite-warning bite through him.

"Go strap down."

Blinking and snapping his head up, Luke stared. Karrde raised a finger as a comm when through.

"Control? I'd like a new timeslot, for in-planet travel. We have a new pickup to make before we can leave Corellia."

Dashing through the corridors away from the cockpit where Karrde was, surprisingly good-naturedly, arguing with Control for a new timeslot permission, Luke wondered if it'd be enough.

Fifteen minutes later, as they rose up from the docking bay, seemingly for one of the surrounding settlements, a Star Destroyer dropped from lightspeed.

Ten minutes after that, on the other side of Corellia, the freighter shot through the blockade that had formed only a few minutes earlier and entered hyperspace.


	10. Hitchhike IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darth Vader contemplates his gamble.

Staring down at the curve of Corellia which could be glimpsed just barely at the bottom edge of the bridge viewport, Darth Vader closed his eyes behind his mask and slowly breathed out.

He'd gambled, and lost.

Obi-Wan was probably gloating, whereever he'd gone to hide after he managed to escape at the Arkanis Academy.

"Get me the captains of the ships who failed to hold the blockade," he snapped and turned away from the viewport, barely listening to the captain of the _Devastator_ confirm the order. _He_ might have gambled, but at least two people hadn't done their jobs, and _they would pay_.

Stalking away from the bridge, Vader turned his options over in his mind. Everything wasn't lost, but it'd take a bit more luck to catch the boy now. But he had a perfectly reasonable reason to have a warrant out for young man, without having to hide anything... well, except for his name. The less out in the open for anyone who might be interested in the name 'Skywalker' the better. It was still amazing Luke had stayed at the academy for several months and that it was his burgeoning Force-sensitivity that had tripped the (usual) alarms, not his _name_.

But that meant his Master didn't know, and that was all he could ask for.

The coals of a rage he'd smothered after his Master had said, in that oh-so-reasonable and even vaguely _commiserating_ voice that _in your anger, you killed her_ , were now smouldering again, had been for days. A child. She couldn't have died on Mustafar. He had a _son_. The realisation hadn't quite settled in until now.

Hadn't settled until it was, for the moment, _quite_ too late.

Shaking his head as the door to the ready room closed behind him and he settled by the viewport to wait for the captains to come and try and explain themselves to him, Vader stared at the stars beyond.

A warrant due to his desertion, because the boy couldn't hide forever. If no result had been had in a month or two, he'd call in some bounty hunters. One way or another, he would have his son at his side, and _soon_. Smiling behind his mask as the door opened behind him to allow the two captains inside, Vader turned around slowly and felt the smile take on a sharper edge.

Yes, he might have gambled and lost, but unlike not quite twenty years ago, he hadn't lost _everything_. In fact, he now had more than he'd had in these seventeen years.

"Would you care to explain how a single freighter got past you?" Vader asked, feeling a slow, creeping pleasure; no matter what their utterly useless explanations for their own incompetence was, he'd be rid of them, and then set things properly in motion.

Obi-Wan had failed, and his Master would pay for all the lies. 

It would _all_ be his.


	11. Hitchhike V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Karrde talk hyperspace and their next destination(s).

The cockpit was empty aside from Luke, who was staring at the blueish mottling of hyperspace in something caught between utter, relaxed fascination and a low-grade amount of nausea. This was the first proper time he'd gotten to see the whole process of taking off, navicomp hyperspace calculations, the jump into lightspeed of stars turning into starlines turning into this mottled nothing. It made it very easy to simply stand here, the surroundings unfocused but for that blue-speckled space and---

Hand on his shoulder, and Luke jerked, blinking as he half turned around to look at Karrde. He'd missed the man coming in, but he'd known who it was before he turned around... Mentally shrugging, Luke focused back on him.

"Usually not recommended to stare at hyperspace for too long, you know."

"Why?" he hadn't heard anything like that, and while he did feel slightly nauseous, he figured he just needed to get used to this.

"Supposedly it causes insanity," Karrde said with a faint, sharply amused smile before he shook his head, eyes narrowing. He still looked friendly, however, and didn't feel any different from what he'd felt like before. Smooth like transparisteel with some hard brightness underneath. 

Luke didn't know how to describe it, but he realised after it got more pronounced at Academy, that he'd always been able to tell if an individual felt 'okay' or not. Seldom had he been wrong.

"But, I've got a question... how did you know we had to leave then and there?" a pause, and another little twist to his lips, "beyond knowing you were being pursued, of course."

Biting his lip, Luke shrugged, feeling a bit annoyed he wouldn't be able to wave it away as something connected to his being chased. It wasn't like it wasn't _true_.

"I don't _know_ ," Luke said, feeling frustration suddenly bubble up. All these half-things, the warnings over the last few days... he knew he had much faster reflexes than he should have (had almost always been like that, but it hadn't been remarked upon until the Academy) and it was _confusing_. Karrde stared down at him for a long, hard moment, and Luke tried his best to stare right back. 

Finally, Karrde twitched his head in a nod.

"Must be confusing," he said quietly and squeezed Luke's shoulder, and Luke suddenly had the impression Karrde had a suspicion but wasn't going to tell him. Grimacing, he shrugged again, wondering if it'd be worth it to push... Karrde's expression indicated no.

"So what's our next stop, and why can't I get off there?"

"Sarapin. And it'll be obvious why," Karrde said, chuckling and finally dropping his hand off Luke's shoulder, "you _could_ get off there, but you'd have a time of it to find someone to get you _off_ that planet, so, since I'm not in the business of cheating when it's not necessary, we'll let you off at our next stop after Sarapin."

"Which is?" Luke wondered if he'd get a straight answer this time, considering Karrde had avoided it when he'd first mentioned dropping him off at the second stop. This time, however, Karrde shrugged and waved at him to follow him out of the cockpit. With a last look at the mottled blue of hyperspace, Luke followed along.

"Alderaan."


	12. Alderaan I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Princess of Alderaan meets our runaway Academy student.

It was a few days of Leia being home from the farce that was the Imperial Senate (her first half-season in session, her first time rushing home just like Papa usually did and almost missing Life Day) instead of her father, but they're still going out for their trip around Aldera together. 

It helped ground her, like coming home from refugee relief or diplomatic missions always did, her hand in the crook of her papa's elbow and simply walking slowly through the main commercial district of Aldera. There was a lot of people out and about, and as such, Leia wasn't sure what drew her gaze to the young man hovering around a stall offering food for sale.

Maybe it was the incongruous combination of clearly military-cut hair with the worn, white clothing that looked like it'd be more at home on some farmer. Not an alderaani farmer, but a farmer nonetheless. Staring at him narrowly, Leia wondered if he might be an Imperial spy. If he was, he wasn't doing a very good job of _blending_. Of course, he could just be someone on leave, but Alderaan wasn't a first stop for Imperial military on leave. They had almost turned down a corner before Leia pulled gently on her father's arm, causing him to stop and turn to her with a questioning tilt to his head.

"I saw something, I'll be back shortly," Leia said and leaned up to brush a kiss against Papa's stubbly cheek, then darted back down the road, pretending to not notice that one of the guards which had been following them at a polite distance broke away from the others to follow her.

Closer up, Leia was even more stumped by this probably-Imperial; he couldn't be older than she was, so that meant he was still an Academy cadet, and that meant that he _should_ be in whatever Academy he'd joined, and not here on Alderaan. 

He also looked... confused. Further also frustrated and most definitely hungry. 

She didn't like how something unwound in her as she slipped up beside him, which made her meet his blink and stare when he noticed her with a glare. She pressed her lips together briefly and softened her expression quickly, though; he might be a spy but she'd gain nothing if he thought she was hostile.

"These are really good and a delicacy around here; only around for Life Day and a short time after. You should try them."

It took him a moment to respond, staring at her in a way that made Leia think of that little strange unwinding inside of her, and while it didn't make her any less suspicious, it was nice to know she wasn't apparently _alone_ in having weird reactions.

"Oh, uh... um, thank you. I wasn't... sure. I've never seen any of this before," the blond young man said, smiling a little lopsidedly after a moment, and that soft, nearly _apologetic_ expression was so earnest Leia could only stare. It was frankly _embarrassing_ that she, Princess of Alderaan and Imperial Senator, would be stumped liked this.

"Leia? Who's your new... friend."

Turning to her father, Leia had the distinct impression from the way he trailed off and was now staring at the young man that _he_ knew exactly who this was and was surprised to see him here. He laid a hand on her shoulder and smiled, and strangely enough he seemed _relieved_.

"I was just buying something to eat, it's---"

"Luke, your aunt and uncle are worried about you."

The young man, _Luke_ (and something whispered within her that she'd known that), whipped around, back pressed against the stall and eyes wide as he stared up at her father, blinking.

"What? How did you--- I mean, I'm not..." Luke winced and glanced around, briefly meeting her eyes as if trying to turn to her for help, but Leia wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, even if his expression made her want to reach out and lay a hand on his shoulder to reassure him.

"Papa, you know him?" Leia asked before her father could say anything, and he sighed, reaching out to lay a hand on Luke's shoulder, though whether it was for the reassurance Leia was too startled to give or to make sure he didn't run off, she wasn't sure.

"He's the son of an old friend, and I found out you were missing from your aunt and uncle, Luke."

Luke stared, blinking and confused, slowly shaking his head before he sucked in a sharp breath.

"Who?"

Leia had been sure there'd be no way for him to look even _more_ confused, but somehow he managed it and she was embarrassed by the way it made her want to hug him. 

"And they've already _told them_? I'm not... I didn't do anything, I _swear_!"

"I knew your father, Luke, and I'm pretty sure you didn't, whatever it is, but that won't matter to them. But why don't you come with me and Leia, and we'll see about contacting your aunt and uncle?"

Leia looked from her father to Luke, and finally she reached out and... well, she wasn't sure why, but she wound her hand around his and smiled.

"If you need help, Papa can help you, I promise."

He stared at her, glanced up at her father through his eyelashes, worried his lip... and then squeezed her hand.

"... okay."


	13. Alderaan II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia and Luke get a feel for each other.

He was staring at her, she could tell. If it had been leering or the sort of ugly gawking that left her feeling dirty, she'd have whipped around and dressed him down. It wasn't, though. It was wide-eyed, slightly flushed captivation, and Leia felt both bad for him and a bit embarrassed, so after a few minutes she turned around and smiled up at him.

Luke blushed and shook his head, and then did something that simply settled him even more firmly in a category Leia wasn't even sure what to name it, except 'safe';

"I'm sorry. I didn't... um, didn't mean to stare."

And he meant it, too, earnest and apologetic, and Leia just shook her head and smiled again. Some other time she might have snorted sharply, or, if Luke had had the rank and status that would require a more careful dismissal, would've given him a few, sharp words. As it was, however...

"Just don't make a habit of it. Most girls will assume you want something if you do that," Leia said, pursing her lips and was faced with Luke blinking and then shaking his head again.

"I don't! Really. You just..." he paused, blushed, and cleared his throat, apparently intent on forging on - and possibly digging his own grave, unfortunately, "you're... beautiful. And seem... familiar?" Frowning as if that hadn't been what he'd intended to say, Luke turned away and slumped down over the railing with a scowl.

"Forget it, I--- I'm sorry."

Honest, again, and while Leia _had_ snorted at what had seemed like a come on as much as a compliment, she paused and then rested her hands on the railing herself, though with far more composed calm than Luke was showing. Which... made him straighten up against the railing instead of half-lying all over it.

"It's all right. You... seem familiar too," Leia said with a frown, meeting Luke's hopeful and confused, stare with a more narrow one of her own. It was so strange and she wasn't sure if she liked it that Luke seemed to share the same experience as well.

"Leia, Luke?"

Both of them whipped around, and Leia stared up into her father's face and wondered at the expression there. Dark with something pinched and sharp, but his eyes were soft with reluctant... approval? Happiness?

"I've left a message with Ben Kenobi. He wasn't available at the moment, but I'm sure he'll be back in a few days, and then he'll tell your aunt and uncle how to contact us," her father said with a smile to Luke, who seemed to be torn between smiling and frowning.

"Ben Kenobi? Uncle Owen's not going to want to listen to him..." biting his lip, Luke shrugged, "and how do you know him? Or my father, for that matter?"

Leia would love to know that as well, because Luke had mentioned, in a whisper that spoke louder than the hissed words he'd used that while he didn't want to question her father, he wasn't sure how a _navigator_ on a _spice freighter_ , who was also _dead_ , would know people like Leia's father.

Her father chuckled and held out a hand for her, which she took with a smile, curling her hand in the crook of his elbow.

"How about we talk about it after dinner, Luke? You look hungry."

And Leia pretended not to notice the way Luke flushed as he ducked his head with an awkward grin - she'd had to ignore the complaining stomach the whole ride back to the palace, after all. If there was anything Luke was at the moment besides _earnest_ , it was _hungry_.


	14. Alderaan III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bail provides some family history!

It was hours later, food eaten and the sky starting to darken, with Leia sitting beside her mother (the _Queen_ of Alderaan) talking quietly about some state-related thing with quite a few words he was only vaguely aware of what they meant, and Luke had no idea what he was doing here. Oh, he understood how it had _happened_ , the chain of events wasn't very hard to follow; wake up in the Academy because of... he was utterly embarrassed about it now, but at the time the fear and anxiety the echo of _run!_ ringing through his head had instilled had made anything else impossible. So, he'd left because of that, somehow managing to hide until the lockdown had been lifted, and hadn't got off on the first stop.

It'd seemed foolish, for some reason. So he'd waited for the second one, which still hadn't seemed right. That left him sneaking off the ship in what turned out to be the space port for the capitol of Alderaan.

It'd been surprisingly cold, but at least it'd been warmer than the ship while in hyperspace...

Shaking his head, Luke looked around the huge lounge again, the colours in soothing blues and whites, with dashes of other colours from pillows, pictures on the walls or small, decorative items. It seemed both homey and very much too expensive for that homey feeling to be possible. It was weird. The wing chair he was curled up in was softer and squashier than anything he'd ever sat in. This was absolutely _crazy_.

Given how little food he'd had over the week, he'd decided to risk going to find something to eat. And that led to having one of the most beautiful young women he'd ever seen appear beside him and give him advice on what to buy and then her father had come up and...

Said he knew his father. And Ben, but while Luke knew who the old hermit was, he hadn't ever had much to do with the old man, so while he certainly knew the name, the fact that Leia's father, the _Viceroy of Alderaan_ had known his _father_... he still wasn't sure if he believed him. But he hoped he was telling the truth about contacting his aunt and uncle. He just wanted to check that they were still okay---

"Luke? I apologise for the time this took, if you're still feeling up for the story I owe you?" Leia's father said with a warm smile, and Luke shook his head, budding annoyance withering away in the face of the very warm sincerity of the apology. He wasn't really used to male figures acting with quite such warmth. Uncle Owen was usually gruff, even with his affection.

"Uh, no, that's okay, sir. I don't mind." Hopping up from the chair, Luke followed Bail even as he chuckled and shook his head.

"It's all right to call me Bail, Luke."

"... Okay," Luke mumbled, somehow feeling like it was far too familiar - Leia's mother had likewise told him to simply call her Breha, no titles - not just for just having met them, but also for the rulers of a whole planet. Funnily enough, he didn't feel the same way about _Leia_. That she was just 'Leia' was a given that resonated all the way down into his core.

Bail led him to a (relatively) small room that had both disc and datapad holders as well as actual books, and a large number of picture holos on display. Luke sat down at one of the chairs by the window Bail gestured to while he crossed the room and plucked down two holos; one lit, the other unlit.

"Before we start, what _have_ you been told about your parents?" Bail asked as he sat down opposite him, putting the picture holos down on the small, dark table between them. Luke wasn't sure if it was a wood or some other substance; it felt smooth and slightly warm beneath his touch.

"I don't know anything about my mother, I don't think Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru knows anything about her," Luke said slowly, frowning and for the first time in a long while felt the familiar ache that usually went with thinking about his father. Since his mother was such a non-entity, it'd always been hard to put much on her memory - he didn't even know her _name_. "They said my father was a navigator on a spice freighter." Not for the first time, as he met Bail's warm, dark eyes that reminded him of Leia's, Luke felt like _something_ wasn't right with that story. Not _that_ part of the story, anyway; he knew very well everything that went _before_ that, but the way his aunt and uncle had only shrugged and said that the first time he came back to see them he'd said he was a navigator on a spice freighter just... seemed off.

Bail slowly shook his head and leaned back in his seat.

"I hope your aunt and uncle will forgive me for saying this, but your father wasn't a navigator. And he didn't work on a spice freighter."

Luke, who'd been glancing between the lit holo - showing a beautiful woman with dark brown, curly hair that somehow seemed faintly familiar - and Bail, stilled and locked his gaze on the older man.

"He was a Jedi Knight, and a guardian of the Republic."

He had only vague ideas of what a 'Jedi Knight' was, and that very much in a vague fantasy way, but that couldn't be what Bail was talking about. Somehow, despite the lack of context, the words rang more true than the 'navigator on a spice freighter' story ever had, and he couldn't help the grin.

"Jedi Knight?"

"Ben Kenobi, who was a good friend of your father, can tell you more about them," Bail said with a small smile, picking up the unlit holo and turning it on, flickering through several different images before he stopped at one and handed the holo over to Luke. It was of two men, one of which was, Luke guessed, a few years older than he was, with wavy, dark blonde hair and a rakish grin on his face - though there were lines around his eyes that suggested he didn't smile all that often. The other man was older, with a beard, and looked faintly annoyed and very stern. It made Luke smile for some reason.

"Your father, Anakin Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. You know him as Ben. They fought in the Clone Wars... your father ended up well-known for his flying and strategies both." Bail fell quiet, and while Luke could feel the older man's eyes on him, he stared at the holo for several minutes, just taking it in. Funny... he hadn't read anything about Jedi fighting in the Clone Wars. There was a question on the tip of his tongue, but when he looked up at Bail, the man slid the other holo across the small, oval table at him.

"Your mother. I only got to know Anakin through her; she was a colleague and a dear friend."

He'd... not _exactly_ known that's who the woman was, but Luke had wondered why Leia's father had brought that holo with him. Putting the one of his father and Kenobi down on the table, he carefully picked up the one of his mother, and after a few moments of looking at it, realised that just as he had been able to catch some features from his own face in the holo of his father, the same went for his mother. 

Which was... well, it should be obvious, but it made something tighten in his chest.

"Who was she? How did they meet?" He should probably look up at Bail, and he flicked his gaze up quickly before he dropped it again, first on the holo on the table and then to the one in his hands. It was near impossible to look away for longer, but he had a feeling Bail didn't mind. He'd seen the smile on his face.

"She was the senator of Naboo. Before that, she was the elected Queen of Naboo. She met your father when he got a mission to be her bodyguard," Bail paused, and Luke looked up to see a brief darkening of Bail's face flit over his face before it was gone and he shook his head and smiled at him, "her name was Padmé Amidala, though that was a name she got as queen. Before that it was Padmé Naberrie."

"A _queen_? And a senator?" Shaking his head, Luke couldn't believe it. This was his mother? But in the regal, quiet face reflected in the holo, he could also see traces of a deep-seated kindness. Even in the still image it seemed to burn through, and... yeah. He could see this woman as his mother. And he'd never meet _either_ of them.

"I can make copies of these and other holos I have of them," Bail said quietly, "mostly of your mother, but there ought to be one or two of your father as well."

Luke, unable to look away from the two holos, nodded.


	15. Alderaan IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke gets some clothes. And really he does rather need those.

The room was huge - by his standards, anyway - and while he'd been too stunned all of yesterday to _really_ feel out of place, he was now sitting on the edge of the bed, having finished cleaning up in a 'fresher as large as the main living pit at the homestead. 

Sure, the showers at the Academy were larger, but they'd been meant to accommodate up to twenty young men at a time; the refresher attached to his room was only meant for the occupant of the room. Which at the moment was _him_.

But that wasn't why he was sitting on the bed and not daring to venture outside yet. 

He was sitting on the bed, the washed-out pale green of his pants contrasting sharply with the cool blues of the bedclothes, having paused in pulling the white robe on and wondering if he shouldn't switch to his Academy uniform. 

It, at least, wouldn't look completely out of place here, and really, these clothes needed to be washed, but he wasn't sure how to ask about that. A chime cutting through the air startled him off the bed, looking around before he realised it was the door. He barely remembered to pull the short robe closed before he crossed the room to open the door.

Leia was standing right outside, head cocked and an eyebrow hiked up, and Luke floundered when those brown eyes met his.

"Uh---"

"Are you all right? If you're ready we'll have breakfast," she said, pulling her expression close, but he didn't miss that sweep over him and he winced. He was pretty sure she wasn't particularly impressed by his clothes.

"I don't really... have anything else, and I guess you wouldn't really want someone to walk around in an Academy uniform? But I'm---" he wasn't blushing, which he was thankful for, but Leia was suddenly looking fierce as she held a hand up, told him to wait and stormed off.

Confused, Luke backed back into his room and continued to try to decide what to do about his clothing situation while fighting with his stomach, telling it it needed to wait for a little while longer.

When the doorchime sounded again, he barely had the time to open the door before Leia came in, this time with company; a tall, thin Alderaani with dark reddish-brown hair and a moustache that made Luke think of Biggs. Glancing at Leia, he wasn't sure whether she was about to burst out grinning or not or what he thought of what that might imply.

"I apologise, Luke, none of us considered your situation, but we'll rectify that in a moment. Jahe will take your measurements and then you should have something to wear in another half hour. Breakfast is out on the balcony, two doors down," Leia said, smiling at him, and Luke _almost_ didn't feel awkward about this. 

Almost. 

Luckily Jahe was a consummate professional and was finished with the measurements and left barely ten minutes later.

When the clothes were delivered, though, Luke was left staring again. Not because he couldn't figure out how they were to be worn, but rather...

He was supposed to _wear this_?

Not that they were ugly; not at all. But they were so far beyond what he had worn before that he felt about as out of place and out of his depth as if he was still wearing his Tatooine garb when he slowly started to pull the clothes on. 

They were white and dark blue and probably the most well-made and well-fitting clothes he had ever worn, and looking at himself in the mirror felt _weird_. Thanks to the regulation haircut, he looked like he fit right into his surroundings... if it weren't for the way he felt like he didn't.

But he was also too hungry not to venture outside, and Breha exclaiming over how 'handsome' he looked felt both good and embarrassing. Leia, at least, did him the favour of looking away to hide her grin behind her hand.


	16. Alderaan V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Organas and their guest have breakfast and watches the wildlife. The adults present feel guilty over separating the twins.

They were still waiting for Obi-Wan to respond to his message the next morning, which meant the breakfast was relaxed with an underlying charge of tension. Tension which had Bail glancing at his receiver or chrono every few minutes, worrying that Obi-Wan hadn't been able to get off the planet like Luke had, tension which meant Breha kept re-reading the first few sentences of the memo on the table beside her, and tension which caused Luke to shift in his seat. 

Luke was _also_ trying to pretend he knew what everything on the table was, while Leia was doing a solid job of pretending she hadn't noticed Luke didn't know what everything was, and seeming as if she wasn't helping him choose what to eat while doing exactly that.

It was hard not to smile at the sight, something which got even more difficult when a small flock of common thranta flew over the lake, and Luke left the table, wandering up to the edge of the balcony to have a closer look. Leia quickly followed, smiling slightly.

"Would you want a closer look?"

Bail didn't turn around, at least not yet, but caught Breha's gaze and smiled. She pressed her lips together and managed not to grin, though her eyes darkened. It was a feeling he recognised as pulling at his own heart as well.

"They'll have left before we can get to a speeder, won't they?" Luke asked, pragmatic enough even if there was a definitive tone of thwarted curiosity as well.

"We have stables, so while we'd be missing the flock out on the lake, you can see the ones trained for riding. We could even go flying, if you want."

Taking the chance to glance over his shoulder, Bail caught the children - young adults, really, but still - leaning against the balustrade (though, to be fair, Leia was merely resting her hands against it), standing far closer than they probably thought they were. Taking a breath, he turned back around and squeezed the hand that was curling around his own.

"I know we couldn't have, but this makes me wish..." Breha murmured under the noise of Luke's question if they had _ships_ as well as riding animals, and Bail nodded as he met Breha's gaze again.

"Yes," Bail agreed softly, not needing to voice the old desire to have taken both twins. It was something he'd revealed to Breha during the early days after Leia's arrival, when she still screamed nearly incessantly for, he thought, what she had lost. 

They were both Force-sensitive, and twins... he couldn't imagine there hadn't been something of a connection there, considering how regular twins were as well. Straightening up when Leia and Luke came back to the table and Breha picked her datapad back up, Bail was relieved to see Leia was apparently not picking up on her parents' mood. Probably a bit too distracted.

"Sounds like you have the day planned," Breha offered over the edge of her datapad, though whatever either of the twins had been about to say was distracted by Bail's receiver giving a chime.

"After this, I think," Bail said and nodded to Luke, and wasn't at all surprised when Leia followed them inside and to the library.


	17. Alderaan VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Technically we're on Tatooine for this; Obi-Wan has finally gotten the message and picks up Luke's aunt and uncle, and tries to explain.

Coming back to his hut, Ben found Bail's message a mere hour and a half before he had an off-world visitor with a ship to Alderaan. He knew Owen and Beru were being watched since he'd spent that hour and a half making the trek to their homestead to make sure they were all right, but it shouldn't be particularly suspicious for a 'friend' to come visit and leave with them. The watcher apparently agreed, and they left without a tail.

"What's the meaning of this, Kenobi?" Owen growled, having, amazingly, kept quiet until they were half-way to his hut, and he glanced to each of them, Beru looking collected but with a tightness around her eyes, and Owen, as always, looking distinctly short-tempered.

"Luke's safe off the Academy, and I'm leaving shortly. He wants to speak with you," he said quietly, and knew neither of them would like his response to the inevitable question that would come. From Beru, this time, not Owen, as she drew a breath and blurted it out before her husband had a chance to say anything.

"You're taking him home?"

Hope, sharp and painful. Not a demand, but not quite a plea; Beru most likely knew it wasn't going to happen that way.

"You're being watched, Beru."

Owen's response was angry cursing and quite a few arguments as to why that didn't matter, but there was a resignation underneath that, while Beru pulled her jacket closer, eyes darkening.

Neither of the two farmers had apparently expected the ship tucked away under a camo-net, even less the simple but meticulously kept inside. The ship wasn't your typical royal starship, but it was hardly a perfectly rundown disguise either. As close to 'nondescript' as you could come.

When the call went through and the holo flickered into view, Bail was only briefly there and quickly left, coming back with a young man. Ben's first thought as Beru exclaimed softly over Luke's appearance, was 'padawan'; but he lacked the braid and, he'd guess, the little pony-tail too. It was merely the military regulation haircut that lent a brief illusion. Tuning out the conversation, he focused on Luke himself. 

He hadn't seen the boy since several months before he left for the Academy, and now... Well, it wasn't just the military-short hair that threw him; clearly Bail and Breha had given the boy something else to wear than the Academy uniform or his own farmers' clothes, because compared to the floppy mop of hair and usually-dirty whites Luke had worn on Tatooine, he was now in a neat dark blue-and-white two-layer short robe and white pants.

He had to catch his breath and hold it, closing his eyes for a moment, because while the outfit was very legitimately and obviously Alderaani in cut and sensibility (and in the colours of the royal House of Organa) it also superficially reminded of Jedi robes. The short hair didn't help at all.

"I... don't know, Aunt Beru," Luke said, sounding lost and drawing Ben back from his unpleasant associations, "I don't think I can stay here very long, but I don't want to get you in trouble either." Luke looked younger than his soon eighteen years implied in that moment.

And that, he thought, was his cue.


	18. Alderaan VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Leia talk ships, and Leia is surprised by their guest on a few accounts. Luke meets a particular pair of droids.

As they wandered into the royal hangar, Leia realised she'd have to amend her assumption that Luke would only be interested in fighter ships - of which they had none - and that as such, this wouldn't take long. Luke, she realised as she watched his face light up at the sight of the three shuttles, the royal yacht, and the _Tantive IV_ , liked ships _indiscriminately_. Hiding a smile behind her hand, she led him towards the yacht first.

"I'm not going to be able to tell you much about the specifications, but there should be someone around here who can, for each of the ships," Leia said, waving to an engineer half-hidden under the wing of the yacht.

"Can you fly any of these?"

Blinking, Leia looked up at Luke, surprised he'd asked - was _interested in the answer_ , since that hardly had to do with the ships themselves. But his head was tilted and his eyes alight with curiosity, and she finally nodded.

"The shuttles and the yacht, yes. The _Tantive_ is Captain Antilles' prerogative," she said with a smile and Luke laughed, understanding exactly what she meant, and then he drifted away, fingers not _exactly_ brushing the gleaming white metal of the yacht's hull, but as close as possible without actually doing so. 

Leia stood by the lowered ramp into the access hatch, watching Luke approach the engineer by the bared maintenance hatch with a roundabout sort of determination that left her needing to bite her lip not to grin.

She passed the half-hour the woman and Luke took by glancing through some of the drafts for her work when the Senate reconvened again, not at all minding the time. She did sit down, though, and on the ramp instead of anywhere else more suitable and if any of her etiquette teachers or aunts saw her do that, there'd be a lecture. Even that made her grin down at the screen in her lap. Looking up at the approach of footsteps, she didn't bother to hide her next smile; Luke looked _bright_ and was nearly skipping towards her.

It made him look younger than he was, which, she reminded herself, was the same age as hers. She still couldn't believe they apparently shared the same birthday.

"Show me the cockpit?"

She probably shouldn't have been, but she was both surprised and pleased he was asking _her_ instead of the engineer, and nodded, leading the way inside with a certain spring in her step as well. She stood behind Luke after she pointed to the pilot's chair, and led him through the controls, Luke following her instructions with an attentiveness that made something glow inside her.

"Not at all like a Skyhopper... But I could fly this," Luke said after a moment, conviction clear in his voice, and Leia dropped a look down at the top of his head.

"Without having flown a single sim or test flight?" It seemed a bit... over-confident, really, but Luke just nodded, replying with, surprisingly, no arrogance or pride in his voice, only the same conviction.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

She shook her head but accepted it, and soon they were wandering over to the _Tantive_ , meeting two droids at the ramp. She had to suppress a sigh, just a _tiny_ one, because while Threepio was a rock when it came to her duties as a Senator or assisting her work in relief missions, his... um, personality was a bit high-strung. But, given Luke's obvious interest, Leia didn't just give the two droids a short greeting to then drag her companion up the ramp, instead she stopped.

"Princess Leia! It's great to see you well!" Threepio's delighted greeting was followed by a whistle from Artoo, and Leia nodded, smiling at them.

"Hello, Threepio, Artoo," Leia said and glanced up at Luke, "Luke, this is C-3PO and R2-D2, assigned to the _Tantive IV_ and assisting Captain Antilles and my father... and now me." Leia added the last with a small smile and a shake of her head, still not quite used to the fact that as Alderaan's senator to the Imperial Senate, the _Tantive_ was technically 'her' official ship. She'd used it quite a few times before her becoming senator, or course, but it was contingent on her father not needing it in his own work.

"Hi," Luke said and he was _definitely_ grinning as Threepio went into his usual introductory spiel, but he waited patiently for the droid to finish, and specifically looked down at Artoo as well. Leia wondered if he usually was like this with droids, or if it was just because she'd introduced them.

"Threepio, Artoo, this is Luke Skywalker. He's our guest for the moment." Funnily enough, simply calling Luke a 'guest' didn't feel like it made justice to _Luke_ , but that was quite silly. What else was he supposed to be? (Even if he did look remarkably like he _fit_ in the royal colours of the House of Organa, despite his awkwardness at wearing clothes of a quality he'd obviously never touched, even less _worn_ before.)

Threepio's 'Greetings, Sir Luke', was interrupted by a sharp whistle from Artoo and the little astromech literally shaking on his locomotive stabilisers, causing both the two humans and the protocol droid to look down at him.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked even as Artoo warbled and Threepio slapped a hand down on Artoo's dome and Artoo made a few beeping noises followed by a cheery chirp.

"He is _quite all right_ , Sir. He's simply being--- You overheating glob of grease, _what_ do you mean by that?" Threepio's sharply outraged cry in his slightly tinny, brightly pitched voice had both young adults hiding smiles.

"Don't you talk back to me! Have you picked up a flutter _again_ , Artoo? You haven't met any--- Ahh!" Threepio cried, cutting himself off when Artoo launched his arc welder and gave the protocol droid a zap in the knee joint.

"You think we should leave them to it?" Luke murmured in her ear as he leaned closer, and Leia nodded, though her intention to lead him around the two bickering droids was derailed by the approaching roar of a ship. Turning around, Luke doing so as well, she shielded her eyes against the sunlight and gusts coming from the hangar's entrance and gasped quietly.

"I think that's the ship Papa sent to bring General Kenobi back!"


	19. Alderaan VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke meets "Ben" and gets some "clarity" in familial matters. It'll make things awkward in the future.

_How did my father die?_

_A Jedi named Darth Vader betrayed and murdered your father._

The words echoing in his head, Luke stared, practically glaring, at the floor. He'd already known that Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru had lied from what Bail had told him, but he hadn't really thought that his father's death would've been... that. Would've been at the hand of one of the most feared, powerful and elusive men in the Empire.

Taking a breath, Luke straightened up, resisted the urge to drag a hand through his hair, and met Ben's gaze.

"I can use the Force too?" He wasn't sure what sort of answer he wanted, because he'd so far been more than pleased and happy about sharing his affinity for piloting with his father, but this... It was bigger than that. It'd, maybe, help him against Vader, help him help the _galaxy_ somehow.

Both Bail and Ben had said the Jedi were protectors, after all.

"You can," Ben said and there was a pause, heavy and old and, Luke thought, filled with pain, and then Ben tilted his head just slightly, closing his eyes, before he continued, "your uncle forbade me to teach you when you were younger, but if you wanted to, we could start here." Ben was looking at him again with a sort of gentle intensity that made it hard not to squirm where he sat, but Luke was used to standing at parade rest by now, and didn't move.

After a moment, feeling like something heavy lay just beyond reach, pressing gently down on him and his mind, Luke nodded and looked up at Ben.

"I want to. I want to become a Jedi like my father."


	20. Alderaan IX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke makes his first acquaintance with his father's old lightsaber.

"This was your father's lightsaber," Ben said as he handed over the cylinder, and it was surprisingly heavy in his hand. 

Turning it over slowly, Luke felt something curl quietly in the pit of his stomach. After a moment, he found the switch, causing a bright blade of blue-white plasma to flare up from the tip of the weapon. There was no extra weight added, which gave a curious sort of unbalance to the whole thing, despite that the hilt itself was, Luke thought, very well-balanced.

"When you've come further in your training, you may have it," Ben paused, and Luke looked up to see him staring down at him with a soft, nearly far-away look on his face, "it should be left here, in this room, or with me for now, but think of it as yours. While Jedi build their own lightsabers when they are ready, your father... I think he would've liked seeing you use it." 

There was a smile, now, faint and mostly-hidden by Ben's beard, but there.

"So... my father _built this_?" Luke looked down at the hilt, turning the blade off so he could turn it around in his hands safely, and Ben chuckled dryly.

"Indeed. Not his first, mind. Your father tended to... lose, his lightsabers, no matter how many times I told him that it was his life. And Luke," Ben said, waiting until Luke turned his head up again to look at him, still not understanding how anyone could've _built_ this thing. It looked elegant and like a single, fused piece of equipment, without any obvious ways to take it apart. 

"That lightsaber, and any lightsaber you might build for yourself, _is your life_. Do not lose it. It's attuned to you and to the Force, a powerful and elegant tool and weapon, as individual as you yourself is."

"I understand," Luke said, even if he didn't _really_ , and by the slight tilt to Ben's head and the twitch of an eyebrow, Luke wondered if Ben couldn't tell that he didn't understand, but he decided to forge onwards before the old man said anything, "but... how do you _build_ it? It doesn't look like you can just take it apart."

"Ah." Ben smiled, nodded and Luke waited, _trying_ not to prod some more until Ben produced his own lightsaber, balancing it on the palm of one hand. 

"Watch. This will hopefully not be the only time you see this, but as the first time it may be enlightening either way." That said, Ben closed his eyes and the lightsaber lifted from his hand and then... slowly started to fall apart, pieces held still in the air as the innards of the weapon were slowly exposed, down to a small, blue crystal Luke realised must be what created the lightsaber's blade and colour of the same.

Luke was made aware that he needed to _breathe_ suddenly, lungs straining for air as he'd been captivated and held his breath staring at the floating pieces of lightsaber, but it wasn't until Ben started to fit all the pieces back together that he took a few, quick breaths, glancing between the weapon in his hand and the one floating between him and Ben before it thumped back in Ben's palm.

There were other questions he wanted to ask, questions which burned in his mind, but Luke wasn't sure how to ask them after his first tentative one when Ben revealed what had happened to his father at the hands of his old apprentice. But maybe he could---

"Shall we see about some exercises with that?" Ben asked, nodding to the lightsaber in Luke's hand and produced some sort of round remote that used repulsors to keep itself in the air, and Luke grinned, deciding the questions could wait for later.


	21. Alderaan X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke trains, and has someone walk in on him. Someone who's very interested in meeting him.

One numbing little blast... two, three went wide and then he was a _shade_ too slow and it bit into his knee, almost making him buckle for a moment. He righted himself just in time to deflect the next one.

It was getting easier to predict where the remote would fire - so much so that Ben had made him start using a black-out visor on the second day and not allowed him to _not_ use it when doing this exercise. Which was okay, he supposed, ducking under one blast instead of deflecting it, and scattering two others, but he wondered how long this session would last. Ben had left half an hour ago and hadn't come back yet---

The door opened, and Luke waited for the old man to call to him, but nothing came. Frowning underneath the visor and, because he was starting to get distracted, only blocked the next little blast only barely, Luke wondered if he was _really_ going to be left doing this for much longer. Though, now that he was paying attention, he could tell it wasn't _Ben_ by the door.

It was someone else, and someone that felt bright, fierce - similar but muted compared to Leia, who was the only other one besides Ben who registered this clearly in the Force and it was so _strange_ that he could actually pick up people through the Force this way - and Luke stumbled, turned around and hissed, lightsaber clattering to the ground as two zaps hit him in the arm, in the same spot right above his elbow.

There was a quiet chuckle, one that sounded very reluctant, and then there was the noise of the remote falling to the floor with a thump and rolling a few times.

"If you're going to stop, you should turn it off."

Luke pulled the visor off, blinking into the light, and stared at a figure that, even if they (she, he thought) had a hood drawn deep over her face, revealed her either to be wearing a headdress or some sort, or she wasn't human.

"Well, I wasn't _going to_ , but I got distracted," Luke said while he rubbed his arm, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes. They were of a height, more or less, but it was hard to tell more than that, the way she'd practically hidden herself in her cloak and hood. It was somewhat similar to how he was used to seeing Ben, back on Tatooine, he thought.

"Sorry," she said, voice soft with something he couldn't put his finger on, but there was also dry amusement, there. She continued to simply stand just inside the door through this, shifting slightly on her feet and her body half turned away from him but her head towards him, and he was pretty sure she was staring. He wasn't sure _why_ , but maybe it had to do with why he could only use the lightsaber in here and wasn't supposed to carry it around where people could see.

( _"The palace is as safe as we can make it, but to be on the safe side, it's better if you're as discreet as possible when training with them, Ben," Bail had said and Ben hadn't disagreed._ )

Squatting down to pick up the lightsaber, Luke looked up at the woman and once again missed his fringe. It'd grow back now that he wasn't in the Academy any more, but that'd take much too long. She still hadn't said anything else, and was still staring. Swallowing, Luke fingered the lightsaber and tried a smile.

"... were you looking for Ben Kenobi? He's not here at the moment." A second later he realised he probably shouldn't have said _that_ , since telling people he did or didn't know where Ben - who had been, was, a Jedi - was wasn't really a good idea.

"No, I---" she shook her head and pulled the hood off, revealing she _wasn't_ human and the 'headdress' was the part that stuck up from the head on a Togruta. Luke could honestly not remember what that part was called, and was, suddenly, embarrassed about it. 

"I just talked to him," the Togruta said, her voice and vivid blue eyes both taking on a harder edge which shaded the Force in the room as well before she shook her head, dispelling the sensation, "sorry for startling you. I... wanted to see you. My name's Ahsoka." She finally walked further into the room, then, and held out her hand for him to shake.

"Luke Skywalker," he said, smiling at the way the tension in her shoulders had disappeared, though right then it thundered right _back_ , and her grip on his hand tightened for a moment. She stood there, staring into his eyes for several quiet seconds and Luke suddenly wondered if she'd known his father. No other reason for her to react to his name like that otherwise, was there?

"I know," Ahsoka said quietly, her eyes darkening in a way Ben's sometimes did too, the depths carrying one million shades of _history_ but then it was gone and she let his hand go. She hesitated again, opened her mouth, closed it, and then said, slowly, "your father. I... he taught me."

"You knew my father? You're a Jedi too?" Surprise and delight made the words tumble out, but he snapped his mouth closed when she drew a sharp breath in and shook her head.

"No." There was something old and hard and aching there. "I haven't been one since before the Clone Wars ended."

Staring at her quietly for a moment, Luke reached out out but didn't quite touch. 

"Are you all right?" 

She seemed startled he'd asked, staring as if she was trying to see something he couldn't tell what it was, and then she laughed quietly, shaking her head.

"Never mind me. Since you have your lightsaber out, want me to show you a few things?" Ahsoka dropped her cloak and pulled out a lightsaber on her own, and Luke grinned.  
*  
_Earlier..._

She had no idea why Bail had requested a meeting, which nagged at her. They usually had vague plans and missions drawn up well in advance – of course, things could change, often on a short notice, but she normally didn't come to Alderaan _blind_. Mostly because they couldn't afford her to; their time was always short and chances for visits limited.

But here she was, following Bail through sun-lit corridors, and it was odd to be doing this in the middle of the day. Not that all their meetings happened in the middle of the night, that was just asking for trouble, but _usually_ they did.

When the door finally closed behind them, Ahsoka almost rounded on Bail to demand what this was all about when someone further inside stood up. Looking at him, frowning, it took her longer - far longer - than it honestly should to identify him, but she'd defend herself with that he was keeping his presence in the Force tight around himself and that he looked far older than she was reasonably sure he _should_.

"Obi-Wan?" she couldn't tell if she was angry or happy (surprised was a given) as the name slid out of her like she'd been _punched_ , because she'd thought... "you're supposed to be _dead_!" So many others were, after all, and she swallowed down the remembered pain from the distant flickers of feeling wave after wave of deaths. That was over seventeen years ago.

"Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated," Obi-Wan said quietly, something of his old smile on his face and in his eyes, before he shook his head, "it's Ben, now, Ahsoka, and secrecy and isolation have been our best defense in these times..." he trailed off, his expression flattening out and his pale eyes darkening faintly.

"Even more so for some of us. I am glad to see you well." Obi-Wan stroked his beard and there was another small, tired smile, but this one didn't reach his eyes, and Ahsoka tried to breathe. Tried to let go of the knot in her stomach and the tension in her shoulders.

"Why now, then?" she was aware her voice was sharp, perhaps a bit sharper than it needed to be as she looked between Bail and Ob--- _Ben_ , and the two men exchanged a particularly sober look between them.

"A little over half a year ago, the situation I was keeping eyes on changed," Ben was now looking at a painting on the wall, rubbing his chin, "something which I didn't think would ever happen, but I was too late to head it off. And a short while ago, the situation became _critical_ , and I sent a warning."

None of this made the _least_ bit of sense, and Ahsoka crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. What was this _roundabout story-telling about_ , anyway? She bit her tongue, but it was a close thing.

"A warning which thankfully came in time." There was another long, brittle pause before Ben turned to look at her. "Anakin and Padmé had a child, Ahsoka. I've been looking after the boy for seventeen years. Vader almost got him around a week ago. He's---"

"He had _what_?" She shouldn't be surprised, she supposed. She probably really, really shouldn't, but there it was anyway, and the knot in her stomach had turned into a knife. 

" _Where_?"

She needed... wanted to...

Obi-Wan--- Ben, told her, and she left.

They could talk later. They _would_ talk later. This she needed to do _now_.


	22. Alderaan XI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Leia talk about Luke's mother and then go on a joyride. The adults talk about the present situation and the future one.

It felt strange that his mother had, apparently, been as important and influential as she'd been, both as Queen of Naboo and senator of the same planet, and that he was only _now_ learning anything about it. Glancing away from the screen, he saw Leia still sitting at the table by the window, bent over several different datapads with a serious, closed-off look on her face. 

He'd been able to tell she'd wanted to help him when he came in here and told her he wanted to find out more about his mother, but she'd restricted herself to giving him a place to start on the computer and making some quiet noise over how Senator Amidala was a role model of hers.

But, despite feeling slightly stunned, he had what he wanted; something like a history - though his father was... very absent in the records, which was strange, but at the same time not, given what the official story said about the Jedi - and the knowledge that he had relatives on Naboo. More family besides from Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, and that was nearly as strange to consider as who his parents had apparently been.

Dragging a hand through his hair, still too short to really do it properly, he carefully pushed the chair away from the desk he sat at, and suddenly he was looking right into Leia's eyes over the screen.

"Found what you were looking for?"

She looked far softer when she wasn't wearing that fierce expression she often had, but on the other hand, he thought, that fierce expression suited her very well. He hoped he wasn't blushing as he nodded.

"I can't believe she did all that... and that I have family on Naboo?" saying it out loud made something small and warm settle in his stomach, "sorry for disturbing you," Luke added with a grin, and Leia snorted and shook her head.

"It's all right, I'm just trying to keep the amount of work I have to do when I go back to Coruscant down."

Something twisted in him at the thought of Leia _going away_ , but Luke pushed it away when Leia looked up at him again, pursing her lips in thought.

"You know, I just remembered... I'm acquainted with one of the Naberries. She's the Senator of Naboo. Papa introduced us when I was first elected," Leia said and then paused, tilting her head as she looked at him, and Luke felt his breath catch, both from the considering look and what she was saying, "I think she'd be your cousin. I could... talk with her, when I get back? See if I could put you in touch with her, if you want?"

"I... yeah. If you could do that, that'd be great, Leia," Luke said and felt something unwind; he'd been concerned of how he might, eventually (if he got the chance) approach the Naberries, and this would make things easier. Hopefully, anyway. That brought back the thought of Leia leaving again, though, and Luke let out a soft sigh.

But then, that wasn't going to happen today or even tomorrow, and as he tried to think of something else to say, he remembered something he'd seen and he didn't know if that was something Leia would like, but it wouldn't hurt to _ask_ , would it?

"If you're not too busy, I remember seeing speeder bikes in the hangar... would it be okay if we borrowed those, you think?"

Leia stared at him for a quiet moment, blinking... and then a wide grin that made her look as young as she actually was broke out on her face.

"They're there to be used," Leia said with a sort of primness that was sharply at odds with her expression, and Luke hurriedly turned the computer off.

*  
Watching the two speeder bikes tear through the gardens at speeds that shouldn't really let the riders manoeuver through the paths as well as they _were_ , the four adults by the window were decidedly somber.

"I don't want to chase you out, but this is---"

"Dangerous, yes," Ben agreed quietly with Breha, watching the unknowing twins indulge in a moment of exuberant childishness, "we won't stay long, especially now that Luke knows about the Force, but while I'm sure Luke would want to go back to Tatooine, that's not possible either. We do need somewhere else to hide, however."

Especially if he was - which he already was, so the point was moot - going to train Luke.

"We don't stay longer than a few months at any given base," Ahsoka said from her spot on the far side of the royal couple, a distance that was sharp but... well, understandable. The offer was obvious, though she was staring down at the distant bikes tearing through the garden, not at Ben as she spoke.

"It might be necessary," he said quietly, and didn't allow himself to feel the pain of her so-far distant demeanor.

"You should tell them," Ahsoka added, shifting on her feet and giving each of them a glance, her blue eyes dark, "it'd only be fair, since they've been apart for so long."

Ben sighed, but Bail got there before him. He shouldn't be relieved, but he was.

"It's too dangerous, Ahsoka. The less both of them know of each other, the less the chance is that, if one of them should be taken, that the other is found. It has to be this way," Bail said, but he wasn't looking very pleased with _having to say it_. 

Ahsoka's expression darkened further and she crossed her arms, turning back to face the window, but said nothing. Her disapproval, even if she obviously understood, was sharp through the Force.


	23. Alderaan XII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke asks Ahsoka about his father.

Pushing the doorchime before he could change his mind, Luke hoped this would work. Ben, beyond those first, tantalising hints, had said nothing more about his father, and he could never seem to find a good moment to ask. Bail had told him a few things, but it was all things he'd heard over the Holonet, and while that was more than he'd had before, he wanted something else. Something similar to what Bail and Breha had been able to tell him of his mother.

Personal things.

The door slid aside and Luke found he suddenly couldn't remember anything of what he'd intended to say and ended up smiling nervously at Ahsoka.

"Uhm. Hi. I just wanted to... to ask a few things but if you don't feel up to answering, that's all righ---"

"Why don't you come in, Luke?" Ahsoka said, the white marking following her brow arched high on her forehead, and he was sure she was hiding a smile. He didn't care, really, but now that he was inside he wasn't sure what to do _either_ , and ended up crossing the room to stare out the window, pushing down the urge to pace - and completely missing Ahsoka coming up behind him, so the hand on his shoulder made him jump.

"So what did you want, Skyguy?"

Luke glanced up, surprised but not displeased at the nickname, and caught both the minute pause Ahsoka fell into, her rich reddish-orange shade distinctly paling faintly, and the near-instantaneous flush back into her skin and the slight firming of her jaw as she smiled at him, only a minute tension still clinging around her eyes. 

He wasn't sure what all that had _been_ about, but he could, surprisingly enough, feel her determined acceptance through the Force. Being able to feel that was a new development since Ben (and Ahsoka as well) had started to teach him, and it was still odd whenever it happened.

"Could you..." trailing off, pausing right there because as he looked at her he wasn't sure if causing possible pain was fair, just because he wanted to know... "tell me about my father? Not, you know, the missions, _other_ things."

She blinked, gaze sliding away from him and out the window for a quiet moment, and Luke took a breath and prepared to apologise, but then she steered him around to the seating group behind them, set up against the wall and overlooking the mural on the opposite wall.

"I'm pretty impressed you waited this long, actually," Ahsoka said, the smile on her face small but definitely genuine, and Luke was pulled into a grin and dragged a hand through his hair. It _had_ been nearly a week since he first met her, that was true. He wasn't sure what to say, though, but it seemed he wouldn't have to say anything; Ahsoka was staring at the mural of flowing grasslands with its background of mountains, blue eyes soft and nearly unseeing and one leg pulled up against her.

She looked strangely young like that.

"As for my master..." she said and then paused, pursing her lips slightly and glanced to him, and suddenly her expression sharpened out again, making her look not so much _older_ as more _present_ , "he didn't even want to train me at first. He was practically hiding behind Obi-Wan when I told him I'd been assigned to _him_ and not to Master Kenobi!"

Hiding a grin behind his hand, Luke couldn't really imagine it, but that was the _point_ of this, wasn't it?

"He was a good teacher though, and I learned a lot... but he probably wouldn't have done half as well with someone who couldn't have kept up with him," Ahsoka was smiling now, her voice soft and once again she didn't seem to be focusing at anything in particular. 

She still, apparently, caught Luke shifting beside her and the question that must have been on his face, considering what she said next, "He was an amazing Jedi, Luke, but not a very _traditional_ one. He didn't listen to Obi-Wan when Obi-Wan thought he should, and he taught me the same thing... and then got annoyed when I didn't listen."

She arched her brow at him, and this time Luke laughed, slumping back into the corner between the couch's arm- and backrest, managing to calm down after a few moments, and Ahsoka folded back over the leg she had pulled against her body.

"He was compassionate to a fault, would rather put himself in danger during missions than anyone else... and ruthless. Anakin believed in me when no one else did."

Her voice dropped again, soft and distant and _almost_ hurting, and Luke stared for a moment, frowned, and then reached out to lay a hand on her arm. He could tell he was missing basically _everything_ that should be in and between those three different descriptions, but despite being somewhat confused - and yet soaking those same words up - he was more focused suddenly on the tremble he could just barely tell was there in Ahsoka's Force presence.

"What happened?"

She shook her head, lekku swaying gently against her chest, and breathed out.

"I was framed for something I had nothing to do with," Ahsoka said, and now the distant softness was all gone, turned brittle and hard instead, and Luke tightened his hand on her arm, "my master was the only one who believed I hadn't done it, no one else... not even---" She let out a harsh breath and shook her head again, more choppily this time.

"It doesn't matter. Why don't you show me if you can levitate this," here she pulled out a datacard from a pocket and put it down on the table in front of them, her smile not quite reaching her eyes but present enough to be warm as she patted Luke's hand on her arm, "and I'll tell you more as a reward, Skyguy."

Luke let out a huff mostly for show, because while that hadn't been a lot, it was more, both about his father, Ahsoka, and her relationship with him, than he would've thought he'd get from stumbling in here late in the evening.


	24. Alderaan XIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Leia go stargazing (and bond).

The door sliding shut behind her with a soft sigh, Leia pulled at the blanket over her arm to situate it a bit better and started down the corridor, knowing all of the night-time guards would pretend not to see her - and she'd pretend not to notice the single guard who would be following her out on this little trip...

A door behind her slid open, and Leia turned around, looking up into sleepy eyes and hair too short to have a chance to make a proper bedhead, and wondered how she could've woken Luke up. There was good sound-proofing in the palace, after all.

"Couldn't sleep?"

Closing her mouth as he got there before her, Leia snorted as Luke took in her proper clothes and the coat above that, and slowly realised that whatever she was doing, it had nothing to do with her being unable to _sleep_.

"I think you're the one who can't sleep, Luke," she said with a shake of her head, feeling the weight of the deceptively simple twisted bun on her head follow the motion. Pausing, she hesitated. She usually - _always_ \- did this alone, but... "do you want to come with me?" The words came out before she'd thought it through, but contrary to what she'd have expected, she didn't feel any regret.

"... okay. What are we doing?"

Especially not when Luke simply straightened up, his eyes brightening with determination and awareness, though he rubbed a hand over his face. There was something with the way he said 'we' that made a tiny weight of pleased heat settle low in her stomach, but she didn't understand it and thus decided to ignore it.

"It's a new moon and cloudless. Stargazing," she said with a nod and then looked to Luke, standing there basically naked and instead of feeling embarrassed, she snorted again and shook her head, "you're going to want to put some clothes on. It's not quite winter, but it's cold enough outside, especially at night."

Luke blinked, looked down at himself, and then disappeared back into the room, leaving Leia standing alone in the corridor. 

Glancing down at the blanket in her arms, she mentally amended the inventory to another blanket as well, plus the other things they'd pick up. It was strange, really... she'd refused her parents coming along on these autumn-time excursions since she was old enough that they'd allow her to go alone, but with Luke right there she'd just... offered him to come along.

Shaking her head at herself, Leia looked up and flashed a tiny smile when Luke came back out, bundled up similarly to her. His grin made her own smile deepen. They gathered another blanket with the provisions a droid gave them from the kitchens, stuffed it all in a landspeeder and left the palace.

"Is that..?" Luke asked, glancing behind them as he noticed the speeder bike following along some distance away as they crossed the still, space-black lake.

"Just ignore them. Even here they wouldn't take the chance of letting me out of sight completely alone," Leia said with a shrug, leaning back in the seat and minding less than she thought she would that Luke was driving, "it takes more effort to slip a discrete guard than letting them do their job in a situation like this."

And really, while she'd gone through the effort quite a few times, her stargazing ventures weren't something she'd waste that effort on.

She directed him to a spot in the hills on the other side of the lake, the bulk of the hillside hiding Aldera and its light, with the mountains to the left of them and a wide, nearly endless view of the sky above and to the right, spreading out over the lake and beyond. 

Breath clouding in front of their faces, Leia directed Luke to spread one blanket on the ground for them and held up the other so he could settle beside her, and then they closed it, capturing the warmth from their bodies and the thermal blankets both.

It was... intimate, yes, with Luke's shoulder and his thigh pressing against hers, but... it didn't feel smothering or threatening. 

It felt... simple. 

And anyway, Leia thought with a smile that escaped despite her best effort, Luke was paying attention to the star-studded sky above them, the back-lit gasses of the galaxy snaking across the sky low on the horizon, with the Rishi Maze visible high above their heads, and not to _her_.

"Do you do this often?" Luke asked quietly, taking the mug she pushed into his hands automatically, glancing down at her from the sky, and she could swear she could see the stars reflected in his eyes, dark as they were in the night.

"Spring and autumn," she said with a slow nod, taking a little sip of the mulled wine, hands wrapped around her own mug, "summer is too bright, winter usually has too much cloud cover to bother... But I don't know how much I'll be able to do this now that I'm Alderaan's senator. Cor--- Imperial Center isn't very conductive to stargazing." While she knew Luke didn't have too much of a positive view of the Empire, she still hoped, for safety's sake, that he thought her grimace from almost slipping up over 'Coruscant' was due to the lack of stargazing possibilities on the other planet, not due to her opinion of the name switch.

Luke didn't seem to have noticed, though, only tilted his head and took a sip from his own mug, pausing only briefly to stare down at it and she smothered a giggle.

"Mulled wine," she supplied as he took another cautious sip, sticking his tongue out before he apparently decided it was all right.

"Never drunk _warm_ wine before," Luke said, and Leia was pretty sure that a few weeks ago, before he'd ended up here on Alderaan and gotten picked up by her father, that'd have been 'never drunk wine before'. She just smiled, took a sip and turned her head back up to the sky again.

"I've been outside a few times to watch the sky at night," Luke said after a few moments of silence, and out of the corner of her eyes she could see the reflected starlight in his, "it's usually not a good idea to be outside at night on Tatooine..."

Leia had the feeling he didn't necessarily mean because of sandstorms or the potential to be robbed or things like that, but maybe those _too_ , and she almost asked before he snaked an arm out of the blanket and stretched it up, drawing out a pattern among the stars.

"What do you call that one?"

Dropping her previous line of thought, Leia smiled.

"Include the two stars to the left, and that's the Balance. Cosmic Justice. In the _distant_ past, very important judicial cases were only decided upon when the Balance was in clear view... Handing out judgements in the courts is still done in the evening, even if the rest of the court proceedings aren't," Leia said, eyes on the aforementioned constellation, "what is it on Tatooine?"

"... Chainbreaker," Luke's voice had dropped, and Leia blinked, dropping her gaze to look properly at Luke and she was pretty sure he was blushing, even if it was hard to see in the darkness, "I mean, officially it's... uh," the next word Luke said was in Huttese, and Leia was annoyed that she hadn't taken the time to become fluent in it yet.

"Basically 'the weight of our judgement'," he glanced at her, still flustered, and shrugged, "that's what the Hutts named it. But it's Chainbreaker."

Leia was pretty sure that, given what she knew about Hutts, that 'our judgement' wasn't some intended impartial cosmic judgement or justice, but rather the judgement of the Hutts themselves. 

Privately, she wondered if 'chainbreaker' was in direct opposition to that, something to do with the Hutts' tendency to take slaves? She didn't feel it right to ask, and instead merely raised her head and pulled out her own arm from their blanket nest this time, mapping out another set of stars.

"What about that constellation?"

And somewhere in there, their breath rising in pale puffs above them and the thermal blanket heavy on their shoulders and the stars bright as they pointed out constellations to each other, they ended up holding hands.


	25. Alderaan XIV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for the time-honoured Skywalker tradition called "let them have an unpleasant vision of Death and Destruction".
> 
> As you do.
> 
> Luke is unsettled, of course.

_'This isn't working!'_

After the fact like this, wandering through the corridors and out into the garden, Luke felt awkwardly guilty over his frustrated tantrum earlier. 

It wasn't like he couldn't sit still, and it wasn't like he couldn't feel the Force doing so - it'd actually been very relaxing, sitting with Ahsoka and Ben and feeling their brightness in the Force so close - but he just couldn't clear his mind. None of the techniques either Ben or Ahsoka had brought up were working, and it left him feeling frustrated.

Ben had let him go with a smile that didn't quite seem like it'd actually been meant for him, but rather something - someone - else, and Luke was wandering the corridors before the evening meal. 

Perhaps the issue was that Leia was leaving in two days, to Coruscant, or rather, Imperial Center. He didn't _want her_ to leave. He wasn't even sure why, or what he felt for her. Being near her felt good, safe, like at the homestead, but he also felt like blushing whenever she tilted her head just so... Shaking his head, Luke pushed those thoughts away and sat down with a groan at the edge of one of the fountains found in the garden.

It was still amazing to him that there was this much water, just... being used for _decoration_.

Even at the Academy the showers had been sonic, but here in the palace it wasn't just used for showers or baths (filling water in a tub and then submerging yourself, the idea baffled and tickled him), but also just because it was pleasing to look at.

The burbling crash of the water falling down into the fountain's basin filled his ears, and Luke closed his eyes as he rested his chin in his hands and elbows on his knees. His back was getting spattered with drops from the multiple spouts, but he didn't mind. It was restful here, simply listening to the water falling behind him, the noise filling him up...

It wasn't water, though. 

An explosion, soundless but screaming with pain, ripped through him - through _space_ \- as a searing green lance struck the perfect green-and-blue marble wreathed in white clouds and tore it apart, leaving nothing but a spreading field of debris behind. 

Debris and bodies on the polished floor of Aldera's palace corridors, bodies he knew and if only he hadn't stayed this could've been avoided and suddenly dread stabbed deeply through him and Luke jerked, breath stuck in his throat and the only reason he didn't fall into the fountain was because Ben's hand was on his shoulder.

"Luke? Are you all right?"

Heart thundering in his ears, Luke stared up at Ben, eyes wide and tried to get the words to work in his numb mouth.

"Can--- Can you see things if you're... meditating?"

Ben stared down at him, his deeply lined face darkening from the quiet concern into something more serious.

"Through the Force? Yes. Come, perhaps we should go inside."


	26. Alderaan XV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke takes... drastic measures to do something about part of the vision he saw.

Turning the holo off, recording finished, Luke let out a breath that felt like he'd been holding it for the length of that last recording, he then put it down on the bedside table. It was otherwise empty of anything else, so it should be easily spotted.

Was he doing this? 

Glancing around the dark room, lit only from the faint moonlight of a new moon outside, two days after his vision, Luke stared at the pack he'd assembled and realised that yes, he was. 

He'd only taken two more of the clothes the Organas had given him; anything else didn't seem right. Two in the pack, and one, as simple as anything he'd worn during the not-quite-three weeks he'd been here, he was currently wearing. The only other thing in that pack besides his meager collection of clothes were the copies of the holos of his parents that Bail had made for him. 

His father's lightsaber was with Ben, and while there was the urge to go sneak into the old man's room and get it, Luke knew he couldn't. 

Shouldn't. 

Both because he'd probably be caught, then and that was something that couldn't happen, and because Ben had said he would get it when he was more trained. And like this it'd be safe, because who knew what was going to happen after he left?

Closing his eyes, Luke swallowed down the faint anxiety thrumming through his veins, his thoughts drawn back to the vision he'd had. The vision that brought with it the certain sense that if he didn't leave, people were going to die. And it had nothing to do with the confusing, terrifying destruction of Alderaan. He hadn't been able to tell either Ben or Ahsoka. Had known he _couldn't_ tell them, because they wouldn't have let him go alone.

He _had_ to leave alone.

Setting his jaw, Luke stood up, picked up the pack and the holodevice laying on the bed beside him, and slid out of his rooms. It didn't take long to spot a night-patrolling service droid, and he handed over the holo and asked the droid to give it to Leia when she woke up. Then, before he could regret what he was doing and change his mind, turned on his heels and walked as quickly and quietly as he could towards the hangar.

Well there, however, Luke stopped, staring from the _Tantive_ to the royal yacht and the two shuttles. None of them seemed like a good idea to take, and he didn't _want_ to take any of them either---

A sudden sharp whistle behind him made him jump and whirl around.

"Gah---! Artoo?" Luke stared down at the little astromech as he waggled from side to side and made a quiet, inquisitive beep. Luke felt himself flush.

"I'm... I need to leave, Artoo. Please don't alert anyone before I'm gone, would you?"

Artoo's response was drowned out by a bright, worryingly loud exclamation as Threepio shuffled into view from the droid storage Artoo probably had come from as well.

"Leave? Whyever would you _leave_ , Sir?"

Luke would be amused by the _concern_ in that tinny voice if he wasn't worried someone might hear them.

"It's _important_ , Threepio. No one can know. And you can just call me Luke," he said quietly, even if it seemed quite redundant to tell this to the droid now that he was leaving.

"I see, Sir Luke. But surely Her Majesty, the Viceroy or Her Highness would assist you, if there is trouble?" More earnest-confused concern, and Luke shook his head.

"Just Luke, Threepio, and no, they can't," he felt his throat close up a little at the thought of Leia. He'd wanted to tell her goodbye properly, but something told him he had to leave tonight. Without anyone having the chance to stop him. "I'm sorry, guys. If you could just wait until the morning before you tell anyone---"

More soft, but very insistent whistles from Artoo, and Luke looked down at the droid, frowning. He couldn't _quite_ make out what Artoo was saying, but he could hear the _decisiveness_ in those beeps and whistles. Threepio got there before he did, however, and it didn't really surprise him.

"'Go with you'? What _are_ you talking about, Artoo? You can't go with Master Luke, we're needed with Captain Antilles!"

"Threepio's right, Artoo, and I think I----"

More determined, and very definitely _stubborn_ beeping, and Luke felt something between frustration and... gratitude well up.

"Fine, if you really want to, but then we need to go _now_. Please don't say anything and take care, Threepio," Luke reached out to lay a hand on Threepio's arm while the golden protocol droid sputtered, clearly trying to form a coherent response, either to Artoo or to him.

"Do you know any ship that would be good to leave on, Artoo?" Luke looked down at the astromech, who chirped a cheery confirmation and started to roll off. Right before they left the hangar, Threepio started moving, calling out to them with a particularly unhappy pleading note in his voice.

"Wait! Artoo, you can't just leave me here! May I--- Master Luke, wait for me!"

Luke did and glanced behind Threepio when he caught up to them, but no one seemed to be alert to what they'd been doing.


	27. Alderaan XVI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are good decisions and bad decisions when it comes to what planet to make your next destination in your little runaway scheme.
> 
> Luke, in more time-honoured traditions, makes a very, very bad one.
> 
> So off we go!

The ship Artoo led them to was a small yacht, capable of taking one - or two, if you were friendly with each other - people, nondescript and one of millions out there. Not something you'd expect to see in a royal household's hangars, but maybe that was the point. Luke hoped no one would need it until he could get it back here, whenever that turned out to be. 

He didn't like this, but he also knew he had to leave, and leave alone. Well, the droids apparently didn't count... He hoped they didn't, anyway.

The ramp lowered and Artoo chirped his success as he disconnected from the access hatch, and Luke cast one last glance behind him, but the small hangar was dark and empty. Sighing, Luke followed the droids into the ship, feeling his lips twitch at Threepio's complaints of space travel in a "tiny bucket like this, are you entirely sure this is _safe_ , Master Luke, and why did you lead us to _this_ ship, Artoo, couldn't you have found something else?"

"This is _perfect_ , Artoo, and it's safe, Threepio, don't worry," Luke said, patting Threepio's shoulder as he passed him and tossed his pack into the tiny cubicle of a cabin that was the bunk. Eyeing the small space, he caught sight of both a comlink and a handheld holo transceiver on a narrow shelf above the head of the bunk.

That could be useful later... With a nod, he turned away and crossed the galley/seating area where Threepio was strapping himself in at the gravity couch, still muttering, and flopped down in the pilot's chair in the cockpit. Artoo had plugged himself into the computer and whistled an inquiry.

Staring at the controls, Luke bit his lip and let his hands wander above them, not quite touching, mapping the controls to the other cockpits he'd seen and been in, and while he didn't _quite_ know everything, when his hands landed on the buttons to start the pre-flight check and starting the engine he knew what they were. 

But that, Luke was pretty sure, wasn't what Artoo had asked.

"I don't know, Artoo... Well, I know where I _want_ to go, but one of them I shouldn't go to and maybe they'll figure out I'd maybe go to the other..." grimacing, he ruffled his still too-short hair and stared at the controls. 

He'd planned on going to Naboo directly at first, but if they figured that out, where else could he go, if only to throw them off for a bit? 

Tatooine was out, no matter how much he _wanted_ to go there, and what other places did he even know? He didn't feel like going back to Corellia and the only other planet he knew reasonably well was where Leia was going---

Blinking, Luke straightened up.

Coruscant. 

Imperial Center. 

Where the Jedi Temple was supposed to be. Maybe he could chance a visit to Leia, too, unless her guards would have orders to bring him back if he came to visit Leia? 

Shaking his head, Luke grinned. He could comm her at least, and just... have a _look_ at the Temple, or maybe rather its location, even if there might be nothing left. Which was probably the most probable situation, considering how things supposedly went down at the end of the Clone Wars.

"Artoo, can you put the coordinates for Imperial Center into the navicomputer?" Luke asked as he eased the ship up in the air, wincing at the wobbling - but he knew how to fix that, too, as his hands twitched over the controls - and almost missed Artoo's dubious warble in response to his question.

"I just want to have a look at something. We're not staying there, I promise."

Artoo whistled both confirmation and doubt, then did as asked while they shot away from Aldera, and Luke held his breath, but no comm came. Probably because of the ship Artoo had chosen and that they were leaving during the night, from the palace. 

Whatever the reason, Luke was grateful there was no attempt to stop him, and the night sky of Alderaan soon turned into the blackness of space, the ship's course straightening out as he learned the controls while flying, and Luke's earlier grin widened.

He was _flying_.

There was a chime from the navicomputer, and Artoo beeped something questioning again. Luke shook his head.

"I'm not gonna change my mind, Artoo. Stand by for lightspeed." There really was no reason to say that, but he really wanted to, and while he paused for a moment right before he pulled the lever back, he knew he had to do this. 

Letting out the breath he was holding, he pulled the lever and as the stars snapped into starlines and then everything turned into the blue, mottled nothing of hyperspace, Luke grinned again. The first time he'd jumped into hyperspace by himself.


	28. Hyperspace Interlude I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Luke and the droids are in hyperspace, Luke has a few questions for Artoo. The answers are... surprising.

With Threepio quiet and shut down - he'd asked him if he'd be needed until they landed, and Luke had said no and told him to go ahead if he felt like it when he asked if it was all right to shut down for a while - in the small two-person couch by the table right behind him, Luke went through the small galley's cupboard. There were rations for three months in here; maybe four-five if you really stretched them, which Luke had some reasonable knowledge of how to do.

It wasn't like food always had been plentiful at the homestead.

That solved, but pushing down the faint guilt of how to _replace it_ whenever he got the ship back to Alderaan, Luke closed the cupboard and wandered back to the cockpit, checking the time. He still couldn't believe it was taking this much time to go from Alderaan to Imperial Center, which was, after all, relatively close to each other. The Core _was_ harder to navigate through hyperspace than even just Mid Rim, though, he knew that. 

Flopping down in the pilot's chair and listening to Artoo twittering softly to himself, Luke stared out at the blue mottling outside the viewport and felt that tug of near-nausea mingled with captivation at the swirl.

He probably sat like that for several minutes at least, before he shook himself and checked the fuel gauge. Thinking it over and some quick, tentative calculations gave him anything from four-five jumps up to maybe nine, depending on the length and complexity of said hyperspace jumps. It'd be enough, he hoped.

Luke knew he should go have a nap; there was more than enough time for that, and it was, to him, still in the middle of the night. Artoo could wake him up in time for real-space reversion or take them out of lightspeed himself, surely. 

But... Glancing down at the little astromech droid, Luke rubbed his neck.

There was something that nagged at him, the way Artoo had insisted to come along... and, now that he was thinking about it, he remembered another curiosity regarding Artoo; the way he'd reacted when Leia introduced him.

"Artoo?"

Artoo chirped, his dome turning around a few times before it settled, and Luke smiled.

"I was just wondering... why'd you insist on coming along? You don't know me... right?" pausing, Luke gave the little droid a narrow look, and Artoo was either suspiciously or courteously silent, maybe sensing Luke had more to say, "because you seemed very excited when Leia introduced me."

The little droid was silent for a long while, dome twitching a little, and Luke almost thought he'd have to push when Artoo chirped and a small diagnostics display behind him chimed. Frowning at the droid, Luke turned so he could see it, and stared at it.

"Prior claim? What do you mean, 'prior claim'?" It was a good thing Artoo had decided to use the yacht's computer to interpret his binary; even if he did know binary better than he did, and Artoo's binary in particular, Luke was pretty sure the explanation given would've been to complicated for just binary.

Artoo skipped the whistling and chirping, instead transmitting what he wanted to say directly through the computer for Luke to read as the letters scrolled across the datascreen, an explanation that filled the young man with confused fascination. And another piece to his parents' past.

"You... flew with my father during the Clone Wars?" snapping his head around to stare at Artoo, this time the droid replied with a, Luke was pretty sure, proud whistle, and then there was a beep behind Luke again, and he glanced at the screen, just _staring_ at it. 

"... But how did you go from being an astromech droid on the Queen of Naboo's royal cruiser to being my father's astromech in the Wars? And how did you and Threepio end up on the _Tantive_?" He felt like he was missing huge chunks, and, as the letters scrolled onwards, it seemed Artoo didn't have all the answers either.

"That's some _selective_ memory wipe," Luke muttered and grimaced, and didn't understand _why_. What was so very questionable about Artoo knowing how he'd gone from flying with Anakin Skywalker to ending up on the Tantive? 

At least, he thought with a slow smile that he felt all the way down to the pit of his stomach, he knew _one_ step in this chain; his parents had exchanged Artoo and Threepio at their wedding---

"... Wait, how did my father get to own Threepio?"

Another row of aurebesh, this time accompanied by Artoo's twittering, clearly amused and sounding somewhat like a chuckle, and Luke had to smother laughter against a hand.

"He _built him_? And took him with him when---" staring, he looked over the letters. Thought back on the time his aunt and uncle had told him how his grandmother had died, and that being the only time his father had returned to Tatooine. 

Neither Uncle Owen nor Aunt Beru had mentioned his father having a female companion with him, even less that that had been his _mother_. But then, a clearly rich off-worlder wouldn't really fit into the narrative of a navigator on a spice freighter making a chance visit to his home planet and ending up trying to rescue his mother from the Tusken, he supposed. They couldn't have known that woman was his mother, even if they'd noticed they were involved. 

If they noticed.

Luke was starting to wonder how open his parents had been about their relationship.

Rubbing his face, Luke slumped down in the chair. Suddenly, he was very, very tired. He wanted to ask more, but there was a headache lurking in the back of his head and it'd been a long day.

"Artoo... I'm gonna go have a nap. Can you wake me up by the time we have to revert if I'm not already up?"

Artoo whistled a confirmation, and then a soft, quiet beep; a question.

"I'm all right. Just... tired. Everything needs to shut down for a while, even humans. Don't worry!" Luke said as he stood up, stretched, and patted Artoo as he walked out of the cockpit. Casting a glance on Threepio who was still turned off when he passed him, he tossed himself on the bunk and might as well have been asleep even before he hit the mattress, for all that he could remember.


	29. Alderaan XVII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The adults and a certain princess back on Alderaan find out what Luke did.

"We have a problem," Ahsoka said as she stormed into the room, Leia on her heels, and slapped down a holodevice on the desk Bail and Obi-Wan had been sitting at, while Breha turned away from the window.

"Ahsoka, what---"

"Just _watch_." Waving a hand at the holo, she then activated it, starting the recording while she took a step back, arms crossed. The small, blue-shaded holo of Luke looked tense but also, and maybe most unfortunately, very, very determined.

_"I don't think it's a good idea if I stay any longer, I think I'm going to get all of you into trouble if I do."_ The Luke in the recording shifted on his feet, frowned as he glanced away and then looked back into the camera, which ended up being somewhere between them all. 

_"Uh, Ben, Ahsoka... I know I should've mentioned that there was more to the vision, I guess, but... what if you got killed going with me? I think it's better like this. I'm sorry about the ship though, Bail, Breha. I'll get it back to you, I promise."_ Luke shifted on his feet some more, grimaced and then the recording cut.

"Artoo and Threepio went with him," Leia said into the silence, frowning at the empty space where the holo had been projected, "Artoo probably insisted, and then Threepio just followed along." She smiled faintly at that thought and then frowned again, looking to Bail and Breha. "Should I stay, Mama, Papa?"

"No, Leia. You need to get going. I'll come see you off," Breha said with a smile, even if she cast a concerned look down at the holodevice on the desk and to Ahsoka, Ben and her husband. Leia frowned, opened her mouth and then closed it. She knew they needed her on Coruscant, and besides that - she was an elected senator, and the Imperial Senate might be an utter sham, but that didn't mean she should shirk her duties.

Especially now.

So she nodded, hugged Bail, and left, Breha following behind her. Ahsoka, Ben and Bail were left in the office, staring at the desk and the innocent-seeming holodevice laying on it.

"What are our chances for quietly starting a small-scale evacuation?" Ben murmured, picking up the holo and stroking his beard with his other hand, pale eyes dark.

"It's going to take _time_. We can't just start moving people... that'll be noticed and since we can't explain... It'll be even more difficult. You're still sure it's necessary?" Bail asked, frowning. They didn't have a time-frame, they had nothing but a vague possibility of, apparently, planet-destructive doom. Ben sighed and tucked the holo away inside his robes.

"The future isn't much for being seen, but there was, indeed, _some_ weight to Luke's vision," another sigh and Ben's expression darkened into a thoughtful, tired frown, "I will go back to Tatooine for a short while, he may return there for his aunt and uncle. But perhaps I should be more connected from now on... Ahsoka?"

"I'll leave you a secure frequency and an encrypted comlink," Ahsoka said, still frowning at the holodevice, "and I'll try to keep an eye out as well. Maybe we can catch him. He's bound to do _something_ risky, after all."

The smile on Ahsoka's face was brief and slightly reluctant, but very fond; this was a Skywalker they were talking about, after all. Risky, given _both_ his parents, was in his blood. And besides that, he was a boy with not many places to go, who had been worrying about said aunt and uncle for weeks now. It wasn't an unreasonable assumption that he would, sooner or later, go back to Tatooine.


	30. Hyperspace Interlude II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia gets a bit more courtesy than the adults and gets an additional message from our wayward Skywalker. And an additional revelation.

On the _Tantive_ , Leia sat in her quarters, and, after a moment of staring at the painting depicting the Cloudshape Falls on the opposite wall from the sitting group, withdrew a holodevice from a pocket. Turning it around in the palm of her hand for a moment, she wondered over the quiet sense of loss. Something was gnawing at her gut, and the bright greens of grass against the blue of the water in the painting only heightened the sensation.

She'd only known Luke for almost three weeks, and yet...

Setting her jaw, Leia _almost_ dropped the holo back in her pocket without looking at it, but then flicked the button to play the recording before she could change her mind (again).

The holo lit up, revealing Luke sitting on the bed instead of standing like in the recording clearly meant for the others. He had his legs pulled up, crossed at the ankles, and was gripping them nervously. His gaze flicked down to where the holo would be while it was recording, and then up again, seemingly to meet her gaze precisely (no matter how impossible that was) and flashed a little smile.

Despite the bubbling pit of anger at Luke having left - ridiculous, she _barely knew him_ \- she was reluctantly drawn into a smile as well.

_"Hi, Leia. I, uh. Sorry for not waiting to leave until after you left. I really wanted to say goodbye,"_ the recording of Luke sighed, his shoulders slumped, and she almost forgave him right there, _"but I **need** to leave tonight. I'm not sure why, but I have to."_ A frown flittered across his face and Luke stared down at his feet for a moment. Strangely, she couldn't even feel annoyed that he was taking so much time.

_"You should know what my vision was. I know Ben said I shouldn't tell anyone else, but I think you should know,"_ he was looking up again, and once more it seemed like he could somehow meet her gaze as if this was a live comm and not a recording, _"Alderaan was destroyed."_

She couldn't hear the next few words; instead something cold was eating her veins and in her mind, a ghostly, agonised scream reverberated while green (ugly, cold, not at all like the warm, living green she was missing) flashed behind her eyes. 

Shaking her head and blinking rapidly, Leia took a few sharp breaths and reset the recording, watching it from the beginning and this time nothing happened when he uttered those words. Nothing but her throat tightening, that was.

_"Ben says you can't accurately know if Force visions will actually happen or not, but... I thought you should know. And..."_ another pause, Luke closing, opening and then closing his mouth again, and he looked so confused and uncertain she rather wanted to hug him. 

Apparently he was now forgiven.

_"I still have your comm frequency. I'll... call if I need to, or when I get a chance to,"_ Luke said, plucking at the bedspread and avoiding her gaze - which was silly, because this was a recording and no matter what it seemed like, he couldn't actually meet her eyes. Then Luke straightened up again and smiled. 

_"Good luck in the Senate."_

Leia was sure he was blushing as he said that and hadn't actually said what he'd _intended_ to say, but maybe she could ask him next time she saw him. Staring down at the holo in her hands as the recording cut out, Leia realised she believed (knew) they would meet again. 

She hoped so.

Carefully, she stood up and tucked the holo away in her personal carryall pack instead of putting it in her pocket where it might get lost somewhere on the way.


	31. Hyperspace Interlude III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's check in with Darth Dad for a moment, why don't we? Poor man doesn't have an _inkling_ of where his son is, still... or?

He rather wished his Master wouldn't require _personal updates_ about the Death Star project from him. Tarkin was overseeing the project, Tarkin was in charge of the project, and was in both of those positions for very obvious reasons. 

While he certainly wouldn't trust the man - no matter how loyal he was to the Empire - he was also not about to suddenly change tack. Surely, then, since his Master trusted Grand Moff Tarkin enough to put him where he was in the matter of the Death Star, he could he trusted enough that these visits shouldn't have to be made as often as they were.

His Master, clearly, didn't share the opinion. And thus, he found himself back at the Death Star quite often, and more often the closer it got to completion. Then, to add even more micromanaging frustration, back to Imperial Center to make his (unnecessary) report.

He could hardly avoid this, but he _could_ make the trip worth his while, which was why the _Devastator_ hadn't made a straight jump from Geonosis to Coruscant, but dropped out of hyperspace outside Kuat and the Kuat Drive Yards. There, thousands of meters of gleaming durasteel was coming together, and in little over a year she would be finished.

A command ship worthy of the Imperial Fleet.

It was something he was looking infinitely more forward to than the Death Star's completion. The _Executor_ was just a ship. 

A huge, deadly ship, but a ship nonetheless. 

The Death Star... Sneering in the privacy behind his mask, Vader left the bridge after giving orders for the _Devastator_ to make the jump to lightspeed and towards Imperial Center.

He would normally remain at the viewports, but lately he often found himself drifting to his meditation chamber, and not just, maybe even hardly, for the relative freedom it granted him. For roughly a month, now, it also allowed him to take off the mask and turn on a datapad he kept in here, taking in the colours of the image attached to the file with his own eyes, unfiltered by the tint of his mask.

The file and the information contained within was now the only complete one in existence anymore; as far as official Imperial authority knew, Luke Skywalker didn't exist. 

The arrest warrant out for him only used his Academy cadet number, not his name. The file the arrest warrant referred back to was one in Admiral Mar'lath's possession, which _also_ only contained the cadet number in addition to when and where he'd applied to the Academy... Bare details lacking Luke's exact planet of origin and, again, no name. It did contain some biometric data for standard image-matching, but those could only be accessed with a direct request to the file in Mar'lath's possession.

Briefly closing his eyes as he once again thought over the frustrating miss on Corellia, Darth Vader connected the datapad to a holo device without looking and turned it on, causing the 3D projection to flare up in front of him. 

The blue tint was undesirable, but the true colours were still there when one was close enough, revealing the suns-bleached blond hair, blue eyes, a slim body that was - or would be - filling out, and an attempt to look serious for the holo taken for the official Academy files.

His son mostly looked awkward, which made him uncomfortably aware of memories that pointed at similarities he'd rather forget. Especially as it didn't even help that that awkwardness had all come from _him_ in his foolish youth. It only made him remember her and compare them and think that _she_ had not possessed any such awkwardness, even when younger than her son was now.

Staring at the holo, Vader felt dark impatience claw at his insides. Roughly a month since he'd found out about the child, and he _still_ didn't have him in hand. After his necessary stop-over in Imperial Center, he would call a few, carefully chosen, bounty hunters to the _Devastator_. Or... perhaps not bounty hunters. Even if they were told nothing they could still reveal too much. But if not that, what then? He had time to consider it, but either way it was time to involve more elements than the official ones at his disposal.

Letting out a slow, even breath, revelling in that it went as easy as it could these days, trapped in this cage that was nonetheless freedom, Darth Vader relaxed into his seat, one hand curled about the still-flickering holo and the datapad resting on his thigh. 

He drew on the pain always hounding him and added the frustration from this _wait_ and tried to reach into the Force.

It came freely, the dark side rising up and flowing through him, but trying to focus on the child...

Indistinct flickers was the only thing the Force gave him. 

_His Master laughing, or screaming in anger._

_The boy standing beside him on the bridge of the_ Devastator _._

_An explosion ripping through space, of a magnitude unimagined._

_Red hair lit up by sunlight and the sudden, terrifying sensation of **falling** , airspeeders rushing by---_

Coming out of the meditation with a jerk, Vader clutched at the holo and the datapad as those were the closest things to grasp, looking around. The meditation chamber was as it always was, and his breath was thundering laboriously in his ears, in his throat, and not even the higher pressure and oxygen levels could currently assist him.

Lowering the helmet back on, he put the datapad and the holodevice away and slammed a hand to the control to activate the comlink.

"What is our ETA for Imperial Center, Captain?"

"Ah--- Another four hours, my Lord."

Growling, he disconnected the comlink and stared at the now-red tinted white walls of the inside of of the hyperbaric chamber.

Four hours.

He didn't even know if that flicker of impression from Imperial Center was for the immediate future or some time further away, and there was nothing he could do if something _was_ happening now. The thought of his son being on Imperial Center and that he might miss him again, or worse, might _lose him_ , clawed at him.

Did his Master know?

The Force murmured no, a reassuring hum around him, and despite the anxiety now in his gut, Vader held that reassurance close. The Force, even if it may not be with him, may yet be with his _son_.

May that last, at least until he could collect him.


	32. Coruscant I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke is dead-set on his dangerous idea of finding the Jedi Temple (or what's left of it), but while the droids don't agree with his sort-of-solution, it's at least something of a backup-plan.

"No, Artoo, I want _both_ of you to stay here," Luke said, arms crossed as he scowled down at the little astromech. Standing at the top of the not-yet lowered ramp a few hours after having landed on Coruscant, he'd been trying for almost half an hour to first convince both droids and now just Artoo to _not_ tag along. 

He was having some issues with this, however.

"You heard Master Luke, Artoo, now do as he says!"

At least Threepio was on his side, though that had been a hard-won victory, and it wasn't really helping as Artoo made another defiant string of beeps and whistles.

"Now listen here you---"

"It's okay, Threepio," Luke said, waving him off and looking down at Artoo again, "look, I need you to stay here so you can run the pre-flight check in case something happens so we can leave quickly, all right? And I'm gonna have a comlink with me, because I _also_ need you to guide me."

Artoo made a very-dubious sounding noise and Threepio fretted now that Luke had revealed he thought something might happen.

"But Master Luke, Artoo may be right, if you think something might happen one of us should definitely be with you, and we can guide you better in person!"

Resisting the urge to sigh, and do so loudly, Luke dragged a hand through his hair and picked up his pack, pulling out the comlink and a datapad he'd found tucked away in the tiny storage in the yacht's single cabin.

"Guys, please. I won't turn off the comlink at all and we can hook up this datapad to the ship, which means you can show me around where I need to go through it when you're connected to the ship, Artoo. And I'm pretty sure _nothing at all_ will happen, but it's a good idea to be prepared, isn't it? And that'll be easier if you're both here and have the ship running _if_ we need to leave quickly." 

Leaving the comlink on meant he wouldn't be able to make that comm to Leia he'd planned to do once here, but he could do that when he got back to the ship. It wasn't like he planned to get a room anywhere else and he'd eat here too.

Mostly because he didn't have a lot of credits left (only what little he'd had after paying Karrde and the amount left after Leia had given him some over his protests when they went out walking in Aldera once), but also because it felt safer to come back to the ship. Imperial Center was stunning and much more massive than he'd been able to imagine, and even just getting to the Temple's location seemed very daunting at the moment. 

To be honest, he'd rather have Artoo and Threepio with him, but it just seemed... smarter to leave the droids with the ship.

_If_ they needed to leave quickly.

Which they wouldn't need to do, but Luke was starkly aware of the possibility that whatever arrest the Academy might have out for him could've been sent on to planetary authorities, especially in the Core. Not _necessarily_ , but it was a possibility.

Artoo finally warbled assent, adding a sharp tone at the end that Luke didn't need to completely understand to still know what was meant; an admonishment to be careful.

"I heartily agree with Artoo, Sir. Please be careful."

"I will, Threepio. Don't worry, Artoo, I'll be _fine_." Smiling, he turned around and hit the release for the ramp, turning around to give the droids a wave at the bottom, and left the docking bay. 

He _would_ be fine. 

Nothing was going to happen. Any nervousness was just because he'd never been to a place like Imperial Center before.

"Okay, guys, I'm in line to leave the spaceport proper, so you're going to have to be quiet, but if you could find out the first directions to the Temple's location, that'd be great."

Artoo warbled over the comlink and Luke smothered a grin as he heard Threepio start to bicker and Artoo replying, forcing him to stick the comlink back in his pack to muffle the noise. It'd be fine. And getting through the spaceport authority would be the first check to prove that it _was_ fine. 

He hoped.


	33. Coruscant II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's have a peek into the mind of the one individual who we really wouldn't want to find out about Luke, and the fact that he's noticed the more-or-less untrained boy. But Luke's still anonymous.

The words washed over him, bringing a sense of petty, pleasantly malicious delight. 

It was, really, an insignificant report of some small defiance that had been since corrected, the planet and the people responsible brought to heel into the Order, but it was another puzzle in his game for controlling the whole galaxy, and thus, now that the biggest of the obstacles to this goal had been attained almost eighteen years ago now, these smaller pieces were what was left to him.

The chamber was bright, curtains pulled away to let light spill over polished floors that had seen many people walk across them, and that also, relatively recently, had seen a most cruel atrocity. It almost made him _laugh_ , and not for the first time. 

No one but he was completely at ease in these halls, though of course his red guard and the regular palace guard were far too well-trained to twitch and look over their shoulders, especially when shadows began to fall. Which they often did, as he was prone to letting the palace be swathed in darkness.

It pleased him, and that was all that was needed for it to happen.

The report was finished, and the officer started the next one after he flicked a finger in confirmation. He wasn't done yet, and while the resistance had both lessened as the years added up, it'd also _strengthened_. But soon even the more organised rebel cells would be taken care of...

The Emperor frowned, just a twitch of his brows inside the shadow of his hood, as something flickered against his awareness.

A candle in the darkness, growing closer... and yes, stronger. Brighter. It was hard to tell, though, because it was unfocused.

Many would have ignored it, such a small, gasping flicker of a nothing, but Palpatine felt the potential underneath the bright, if insignificant, flame. The shadows in the room shifted, seeming to want to smother the approaching light, and perhaps that also made it hard to judge its strength. It didn't matter much, in the end.

An opportunity, if nothing else. And no Force-sensitive in this Galaxy that wasn't his was allowed to walk free.

He gestured with his hand sharply and the minion in front of him, some general or other, fell quiet and immediately left. He turned his head, just a shade, which caused the red guard on his left to shift back and allow the gangly young woman to come forward, leaning down towards his inclined hood.

"Take up a spot by the outer perimeter, child, and bring me the untrained Force-sensitive that will appear."

She twitched, mouth opening a fraction for something to say while her hand landed on the lightsaber hanging at her hip.

"But if they're untrained, Your Highness---"

"You have enough training to find them, and if you do not, perhaps my apprentice need to further teach you," he said, cutting her off with his words as well as with the gesture of his hand, his sneer stinging across her mind. Unabashed pleasure bloomed up from the angry trepidation she briefly emanated.

"As you command, my Emperor."

The Emperor smiled into the shadow of his hood as she left, the early afternoon light catching fire in her hair. 

As he commanded, indeed.


	34. Coruscant III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mara Jade is assured of her success and of her ambitions. We'll see where that takes her.

Failure was, of course, not an option. 

She had gotten this far and was now at the side of the ruler of the Galaxy (her master, even if that was not true in reality just yet, but in all other ways that mattered it _was_ ), and capturing an untrained Force-sensitive who wouldn't even know they were being hunted would be easy. Trepidation flickered through her as the turbolift closed and descended, a warning against her confidence Mara was inclined to ignore.

What danger could she be in, as long as she succeeded? Maybe it was just her mind playing tricks on her with the Emperor's warning of putting her back under the direct training of Darth Vader again. 

Not that that was something she feared on its own, really. She had, like any other Inquisitor, trained under the Emperor's apprentice and survived this far; thus she ought to be valuable enough (she _was_ ). 

The real danger lay in that she _had_ come this far; not all Inquisitors got to serve directly at the Emperor's side, more often sent out to those troubles that would require the dark side's touch but was not enough, for whatever reason, to command the Dark Lord's presence and attention.

Swallowing a sneer at that thought, Mara straightened up again, ignoring the three courtiers and their attendant protocol droid that had entered the turbolift with her.

Darth Vader could, of course, not be in all places at once, which _was_ what the Inquisitors were for and why he tolerated them; on the other hand, she was sure she wasn't alone in having noticed Vader's particular... twitchiness about his spot at his Master's side. 

She may be a few years short of twenty as of yet, but _that_ was something hard to miss. So, her spot, Mara thought with some quiet vindictiveness in her mind, carried a little bit of danger, but she'd surpass it. 

She'd show her master--- her Emperor, that his trust in her abilities wasn't misplaced.

Stepping out of the turbolift, she dodged around the crowds in one of the entrance halls, coming out into the cool shadow cast by the Imperial Palace and squinting out into the sharp contrast of shadow and light cast by the sun on the terraces and stairs that led up to the entrance.

Now... putting herself in an alcove near the guards, she closed her eyes, frowning. Where did she need to be, to find this _Force-sensitive_..?


	35. Coruscant IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke finds out what the Jedi Temple actually is at the moment, meets a mysteriously helpful redhead, and goes about things in the usual Skywalker fashion.

Imperial Center was dizzying.

Luke also got distracted a lot of the time by all the airspeeders and ships all over the place, but slowly he followed Artoo's directions across and up levels and there were _so many_. Directions which he ended up asking Artoo if they were correct more than once, because the closer he got to his assumed destination, the more people there were around.

He'd been pretty sure that the Temple, being what it had been, and the area around it, would've been left deserted or at least closed off or... something.

Of course, how _he_ had planned to get close he hadn't exactly thought about, but now, standing on the far edge of a vast plaza scattered with statues, shrubbery, some sort of decorative buildings and knots of very important-looking people wandering around, plus stormtroopers seemingly everywhere that led up to what Artoo said would be the Jedi Temple, Luke had a bad feeling about this.

That place wasn't razed, or even ruined.

It gleamed in the sunlight, its angled walls covered by some sort of shallow scrollwork, and Luke stared at it and wondered how _large_ those carved letters (he thought they were letters, but looking at them made him feel somewhat... funny) must be to be visible from here. The spires on top of the building stretched towards the bright blue sky, lit up by the sunlight and turning them into swords of molten gold, and Luke rubbed his eyes.

Rubbed his eyes, and asked Artoo to check what the local maps said what was supposed to be in the location he was in.

And stared at the response, filtering out Threepio's shrill worrying coming from the comlink.

The _Imperial Palace_?

He was _never_ going to be able to get inside.

Groaning, Luke wondered if Leia would've gotten here yet, and maybe he could go visit her... but there was still the issue of her security detail or whatever she might have would've been told by Ben or Bail and Breha that he might try to contact her and to bring him back to Alderaan. Swallowing a sudden sense of cold dread, Luke knew he couldn't let that happen.

Maybe he could just comm her---

"Are you lost?"

Whipping around, Luke managed not to stumble in his surprise. He was staring into green eyes - they seemed to flicker strangely into yellow, but maybe that was just a trick of the sunlight - framed by freckles, and red hair caught up in a severe braid wrapped around the Human girl's head.

It looked like she was trying to smile in concern at him, but she just looked vaguely annoyed. He'd have laughed if something didn't whisper caution at him.

"Uh... no. I'm. I'm okay," he said, shrugging and managing a smile of his own, carefully tucking the datapad away in his bag, then closed it, "I just didn't expect it to look like _that_." A nod towards the Palace, and it was true enough. He _hadn't_ expected it to look like that. 

This time, the young woman - his age, he thought, maybe a year or two younger? - actually did smile, small and thin... more privately amused than openly so.

"Do you want to get a closer look?"

"What?" That couldn't be what she seemed to be saying, right? Luke frowned and crossed his arms. He knew absolutely nothing about galactic politics and the elite of Imperial authority, but he was pretty sure you couldn't get a 'closer look' of the Imperial Palace just like that.

"I know a way in," she said, leaning forward slightly and lowering her voice, and Luke was now pretty sure her eyes were yellow and not green. 

Biting his lip, he shifted on his feet. He _did_ want to have a closer look, but... He shook his head, and didn't need Artoo's warble _or_ Threepio's mutter that this was _not safe, Master Luke, you shouldn't go with unknown women!_. She wasn't any older than him, but still. Something jangled along his nerves.

She vaguely felt like one of the black-clothed... inspectors or whatever they were, which had come through the Academy a week after he'd gotten there, surveying the cadets training and studying with sharply cold, yellow eyes.

... Yellow eyes? 

Something told him that wasn't good, at all.

"It's okay. Thanks, though," he said with a smile and shook his head, turning away and walking back the way he'd come, aiming for the stop for the public airspeeder transport. He hadn't gotten more than ten meters away when feet came pounding up behind him, sharply different to the sedate pace of the richly-clad beings around him. Luke twisted around and back, half from the warning from the Force that trilled through him, half on desert-born instinct for Tusken attacks and years of keeping on edge to avoid being clipped on the head by Fixer, swoop gang members, or Jabba's goons.

He avoided the fist aimed at his head just barely; it swept past his nose and the redhead went tumbling past him, and while he winced as she fell, he didn't stop to try and help her. He turned and ran, instead, listening to the sudden crescendo of the Force around him, pulling at him.

He needed to get back to the ship, and as soon as possible. He just needed to avoid the redhead too! Dodging clumps of richly clad beings of various sorts, Luke cursed in his mind while his breath caught in his throat and his stomach turned into a cold knot as he glanced behind him.

She was keeping up with him.

Scratch that, she was _gaining_.

He had gotten so used to that no one at the Academy could keep up with him when he felt like this, _ran_ like this, but she was. He needed to lose her. Taking a breath he jumped, leaping over two Bothans, the jarring landing sending him to the ground, hard on his shoulder. He rolled upright, catching sight of the public transportation stop just ten meters ahead. 

He only needed to---

The black blur that flew over and past him made Luke skid to a stop and stare. The redhead landed squarely in the way, as elegant as he'd been clumsy, and behind him he could hear the approaching stomp of guards of some sort - the heavy boots gave them away. 

She smirked at him, eyes wild, expression pleased.

"Why don't you just make this easier on yourself, huh? I'm _far_ better trained than you are," she said smugly and Luke scowled, rolled his eyes and gave her a tight smile.

Better trained? They'd see about _that_. Sure, he didn't doubt she'd been trained in the Force (it was obvious she was using the Force) for longer than _he_ had, but that wasn't hard. Not even three weeks of training wasn't exactly hard to top.

The guards were coming closer and the girl, a funnily designed lightsaber unlit in her hand, took a step closer as well.

He glanced behind him, back at the girl, and then leaped ten meters sideways right when the first guard was reaching for him, taking off at a sprint the second he landed. 

The girl screamed a few choice insults at his back and then took off after him. But this time Luke wouldn't let her catch up. He veered around some sort of plant arrangement, dodged a guard on a speeder bike and didn't stop. Not even when the edge of the plate the Palace was built on came up.

Luke eyed the edge, closed his eyes, and jumped.

Air slammed up against him as he fell, airspeeders passing by in smears of metal and colour and his heart was in his throat and he was _going to die_. 

Biting down on exhilarated laughter, Luke closed his eyes again and _reached_...

_Now_.

One air speeder passed him close enough his side brushed it and he pushed away from it, ignoring the scream from the driver. The wind buffeted him, but the push he'd gotten from the airspeeder let him slam down on top of another speeder and he rolled, scrabbling for a grip with his heart still firmly lodged in his mouth.

Force and suns and stars _please_ \---

He gripped at a slight edge in the metal, slipped, caught some vents even when they burned his fingers, but at least he'd stopped sliding off. Pulling himself up on a crouch on the speeder, he grabbed the back of the seats to steady himself and smiled unsteadily at the Rodian mother and her two children in the speeder.

"Sorry 'bout dropping in," Luke said brightly as he swallowed down nausea and excitement both and jumped again. The children cheered while their mother screamed.

He landed hard on another speeder, a stab going up through his left ankle but he ignored it. This one had a covered top, which gave him more time to grip something and huddle in the slight lee behind the covered seats. Glancing up at the slight tug from the Force, Luke stared. The girl was zooming through traffic on a speeder bike and while he was sure she hadn't seen him yet, she soon _would_.

"Artoo, start the ship up and track me, we _need to leave_!" Luke yelled into his comlink even as he jumped without even looking, but luckily he didn't need to look when he was still attuned to the Force enough that he landed on another speeder, even if it drove the air out of his lungs.

He needed... brain whirling emptily as he stared wildly around and didn't listen to the couple in the seats (about his age, maybe a little younger. Probably only gotten their speeder licenses recently) screaming about how they didn't want to be robbed, he finally caught something far below. Repulsor train.

_Perfect_!

"Sorry," he said, again, giving the two Pantoran girls an apologetic smile and jumped, focusing on the distant train platform and working against the traffic. He could swear he heard the whine of that redhead's speeder bike coming closer, but he focused on _not falling_ , not losing his footing and trying not to sprain his ankles or wrists (anymore than his left one might already have been), his eyes closed more often than not as the Force hummed around him, buoying his steps and jumps.

There was more than one startled gasp when he made the final leap down on the platform, crumpling more than rolling properly, but he didn't stop, just got up on his feet again. Because if he waffled about which of the two trains that had pulled in to get on, he _knew_ the redhead would see him. She was only barely twenty meters away, and if she changed angle just a _shade_ she'd---

He dove into one of the trains and huddled low, pulling the comlink up.

"I'm on a repulsor train, gonna check where it ends, you bring the ship there, okay, Artoo?"

The answering twitter was reassuring, and Luke relaxed back against the train car's wall, letting his head thump against the metal.

So coming here hadn't been the best idea, but at least he was still in one piece.

His ankle hurt, though, and the rest of him would as well, soon enough, he was pretty sure.


	36. Coruscant V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, has Vader actually reached Coruscant in time...?
> 
> Yes.

Vader had thought the banquets, formal events, _ceremonies_ Palpatine had him attend every now and then would be the most excruciating things he might ever have to suffer through.

He had been wrong.

Walking down the corridors of the Imperial Palace towards his meeting with his Master and feeling the singing brightness, dim and distant but still definitely on-planet, and _knowing_ he could not go and hunt the child down, was _torture_.

Even more so because the connection wasn't mutual, and as such he couldn't pinpoint Luke's location and send an agent to catch him.

Coming out of lightspeed, and, as he boarded the shuttle and got closer to Imperial Center, feeling that particular little light stand out brightly, despite being untrained, had left him with a surge of triumph; the vision had either not happened, or his son was safe, and _still on the planet_.

Then he realised he could neither go chase down the child himself _nor_ lock down the whole of Imperial Center to make sure he couldn't take off. Oh, he _could_ , but not without Palpatine noticing, and thus his triumph had turned into torture of an indeterminable length. And he'd barely been planetside for half an hour, yet.

The throne in the paradoxically shadowed-but-sunny private throne room was turned towards the large windows and the view outside when he entered, and he walked down the length of the polished floor and knelt a few steps away from the steps that led up to the dais.

He hated this room.

He hated this whole _building_ and wished he could burn it to the ground, take it apart stone by stone. His Master, instead, had made it into the core of his Empire. It didn't just _rankle_ , it burned his mind and left him seething with rage.

"Rise, my friend," Palpatine said slowly, finally turning the throne around and giving a stately wave, a dry, predatory smile on his face. That smile wasn't for him, however, and he glanced around the throne room; red guards, two oily, obsequious advisors (no Mas Amedda at the moment, however), and, most notably, no red-headed Inquisitor behind the throne.

"Master," he said, momentarily almost losing concentration as the light of his son flared, then settled. With some effort, he focused on his Master, clutching his belt for an additional anchor, and forced himself to continue speaking. "The project is proceeding as planned, slightly ahead of schedule."

If his Master wished for a more in-depth report, he would have to peruse Tarkin's report or consult the man himself.

"Excellent, Lord Vader. Grand Moff Tarkin was always one to produce... results," Palpatine cackled, amused, and Vader couldn't care less what particular assessment or memory of an achievement of the governor's that his Master was thinking about. On the other hand, he couldn't help still being interested in the lack of his Master's current favourite Inquisitor in the throne room.

"Mara Jade is missing."

His Master promptly broke out in cackles again, though sobered up after a moment, fingers tapping the armrests of the throne.

"The lack of such a lovely face is easily missed, is it not?" he grinned toothily, scraped a nail down the polished durasteel of the armrest, "there was a disturbance in the Force. Unfocused and untrained, but with some potential."

Darth Vader thought his heart would stop at that declaration, and the only reason he could keep _anything_ under control was because he remembered the Force whispering to him earlier. 

His Master _didn't know_. 

This was, unfortunately, all the reassurance that he had; he could hardly probe deeper into this without betraying too much knowledge or interest.

"A Force-sensitive that was missed in the sweeps?" He tilted his head, forcing his voice to only register a sneer, thought only of his disdain for the Jedi. Of his loathing of this building, this _room_ , and the many humiliations he'd suffered within.

"Indubitably, my friend," Palpatine said, waving a dismissive hand, "Jade will bring them here, and we shall see if they can be trained as an Inquisitor or better disposed of."

"And if she fails?" He couldn't help it.

"Ah. I am sure she will punish herself far more than whatever remedial training you and the Grand Inquisitor will give her, Lord Vader," his Master said, chuckling quietly.

He didn't bother responding to that, merely waited, and while his Master made another few inquiries regarding Fleet movements and Rebel activity, he was soon dismissed. His Master might want to keep a finger on every part of the Empire's pulse, but military matters didn't interest him much, if at all.

Only as a means to an end.

Vader forced himself to walk as slowly out of the private throne room as he had entered it, walked with measured steps the whole way to the speeder waiting for him. Knowing he had to return to what could only generously be called his 'home' here on Imperial Center before he went out to search for his son.

Unfortunately, the towering building was barely in view when the sensation of Luke's dim, flaring light suddenly _stretched_ \---

And gone.

The airspeeder nearly crashed into a skyscraper he was passing, and every single driver or passenger within a hundred meters of his speeder almost suffered simultaneous respiratory failure in that moment.

The guard at the landing pad _did_ suffer that fate, then went toppling off the landing pad while he stormed through the building to the duelling room. No one else suffered his wrath, though only because he met none on the way.

He wiped out his stock of duelling droids within the hour, and felt not the least bit better after he was done.

So. _close_.


	37. Coruscant VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia gets another comm from Luke, with a request.

" _Hey, Leia_ ," the projection of Luke said, giving a quick flash of a smile that was pulled short with a wince, and given the nasty bruise Luke had gotten (where? _when_? He'd been away from Alderaan barely a few more hours than she had!) down the right side of his face, she could see why.

Curling her feet under her as she settled on the bed in her apartment on Imperial City, listening to the bustle of the guards and servants outside, she felt somewhat guilty. Because she wasn't going to tell anyone she'd gotten this comm from Luke, even if he _didn't_ ask her not to. She was pretty sure he would, though.

" _I was going to comm you... would've come visited you, but I'm pretty sure everybody but you have orders to bring me back to Alderaan, so I can't. I'd planned to comm you while I was still on Imperial Center, but I had to leave real quick_." A frown flashed over his unconcerned features, and Leia shook her head, pulled between incredulity and anger.

He had been here?! 

What had he been _thinking_?

Even if it was improbable anyone would recognise him as a Force-sensitive, that was still a far greater risk here on Imperial Center than anywhere else.

" _Just wanted to ask you if you could talk to... um, Pooja Naberrie, right? And... tell her_ ," Luke paused, gesturing vaguely with his hands as if he couldn't decide how to phrase it, but then, he didn't really need to. She knew what he meant. " _I'm going to Naboo... soon. If they know beforehand, it'd make things easier_."

He paused, looking up at her so pleadingly she smiled.

"Nerf. I'll do that," Leia said, speaking out loud even if he couldn't hear her.

" _I hope your jump to Imperial Center went okay, and don't tell anyone, please?_ " Luke gave her another tiny smile, this time not pulling at his bruise, and the recording winked out.

Staring at the dark projector, Leia rubbed her chin.

She could make a comm to Pooja tomorrow, ask if she wanted to have dinner together, or if not then, when, and tell her whenever they did meet, then comm Luke, since she now had the frequency of the comlink he was using. Nodding to herself, Leia put the holodevice away and went to get ready for dinner _this_ evening.

Only her, Winter, and one of Papa's old friends.


	38. Hyperspace Interlude IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vader, frustrated with the near-miss on Coruscant and the time that has passed since he found out about Luke, makes a decision, and asks (demands) assistance from a third party.

At least, Vader acknowledged, he'd had the time (and the presence of mind) to make sure the surveillance that Luke had appeared in on the plaza was all unusable to identify the boy before he left Coruscant. It was all awkward shots from behind or distance shots, luckily, and while he'd been tempted to erase it all on principle, he'd satisfied himself with making sure that the distance shots, even when zoomed in, couldn't be used to get any relevant biometric data or reliable shots for a visual match ident.

Jade having seen his son up close was an issue, but one that he could do nothing about - she was far too visible to the Emperor for him to remove her. She would have to remain the only uncertain angle in this, though while the Inquisitors would possibly be put on alert for a Force-user at large, there was no indication that any greater effort would be taken.

Yet, anyway.

Luke was lucky he wasn't trained enough (or at all) that he wouldn't be bumped further up on the list of people of interest.

This, however, had made it clear he would need to be more proactive. He didn't have many choices, unfortunately, and even less choices available when one took into account what might be sold out to his Master for the right price. But, there was one resource he could be sure would not reveal to Palpatine that he had come to them.

As such, while the _Devastator_ was in hyperspace to rejoin the rest of the Death Squadron, Vader made a comm.

"Mother Jade," he said after both of them had stared at each other for several silent moments after the comm had connected, and slowly dipped his head in a shallow motion of... acknowledgement, at least. Jade's expression flattened further from the unimpressed stare she'd gained after she saw who it was that was comming, and there was a minute, but quickly contained, curl to the corner of her mouth.

"Darth Vader," she gave back, the blue of the hologram almost completely disguising the vivid purple and green facepaint she sported, as well as the long white topknot braid. Not that he could see the colours either way, other than as differing shades of more or less dark red. "Has the Emperor something to say?" Somehow, she managed to sound neutral, but Vader, familiar with this woman, could hear the tremble of disdain underneath.

"No." He let the single word hang between them for a moment while she narrowed her eyes, and then continued, "I require an agent."

"And is this a _temporary_ assignment, bought and paid for, or will the Empire claim yet another Sister?" she was angry now, he could tell, the heat in her voice tightly leashed. He almost expected her to throw out a few insults and terminate the transmission, but the years had steeled the so-called Mother Jade. She didn't move or say anything further.

"Paid for and temporary. And unless you choose someone _uniquely untalented_ , Mother Jade, the assignment ought not be lethal," Vader said dryly, smiling sharply underneath his mask before he sobered, nearing an edge in this conversation he didn't wish to tread upon, but would have to. 

"Whoever you choose is to find a boy. Details will be transferred if you accept," he snapped, balling a fist out of sight. He knew what she would say next, and with her history, he would expect nothing less. Still, this was where the edge began. 

She stared at him, her pale eyes burning. Seemingly red through the filter, they were actually blue.

"I'm not in the business of kidnapping children, Vader," she said, her voice now acid enough to eat through durasteel.

Vader stared quietly at the Nightsister Mother for several moments, let the respirator count out the seconds. The edge was fine, and he did not trust her. Had no reason to; she didn't like him and he didn't like her - but there were a few mitigating factors. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, and then opened them again so he could be sure not to miss any twitch to her expression when he revealed what he was about to.

It still took him another two breath cycles before he could dredge up the words he needed.

"Neither am _I_ , Jade. I need your agent to reclaim what is _mine_." His heart was loud in his ears, and the only loose equipment in the sealed meditation chamber trembled with his leashed anger and fear. She now knew enough to destroy him, should she choose to go to Palpatine, despite her history.

Mother Jade stared silently for several moments, her expression flatly controlled. Then she started to chuckle, distorting the patters painted into her face.

"I hope we _never_ share anything other or closer than this, _Lord Vader_. It's quite a _long time_ for something to be lost, isn't it?" There was no sympathy in her voice, only mockery, and he almost lost control. He kept his temper, however, and merely glared at her. Knew the barely-leashed ire would be easily picked up on through the Force - and she was now among the living merely on his sufferance.

She wouldn't be able to terminate the comm transmission quickly enough to save her life, if he decided to end it. Mother Jade was not intimidated, but then familiarity sometimes blunted one to very real threats.

"Send all relevant information to this frequency, Lord _Vader_. You will have your Nightsister _and_ what you lost," Mother Jade said, arching a hairless eyebrow as she leaned forward and transmitted the comlink frequency.

"She will be paid on delivery, Mother _Jade_."

His hand, as he terminated the transmission, did absolutely not tremble. Only time would tell if he hadn't made a fatal mistake in the decision to involve Mother Jade and her Nightsisters in this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mother Jade isn't actually an OC, but I won't be tagging her real name for now. ;)


	39. Coruscant VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia meets with Pooja Naberrie, and drops the bomb, so to speak.

"Leia, are you all right?"

Leia twitched guiltily as she looked up from her glass to Pooja, balling her hand in the skirt of her dress and all too aware of the small holodevice she'd put into the pocket before she left her apartment.

"I'm fine, Pooja. I just have... a lot on my mind," Leia said, managing a smile that, she could see, didn't convince her friend at all. Not surprising, but it wasn't every day you were asked by someone to tell someone else they were related. And that one of these two people weren't even present.

"Leaving home after Life Day is always hard... especially the first time," Pooja agreed, raising her glass in acknowledgement and taking a sip.

The noise of Coruscant's traffic was muted here, out on the verandah with the force fields raised, giving only a spectacular view of the sprawling cityscape between the pillars and beyond the landing pad. Leia hoped Luke had found somewhere to sit tight; Pooja had been busy when she'd first asked her, and it was now three days later.

And Pooja's comments had now also pulled up thoughts of her mother and father and Alderaan, and she sighed, sticking her hand into her pocket to rub the holodevice without exactly knowing why. She had known Luke for such a short time, after all, and yet...

She shook her head.

"It is. I know I can do it, but..." she smiled again, straightened up. This wasn't what she wanted to talk to Pooja about, and the evening wasn't getting younger. They both had busy days. "But that's not what I wanted to talk with you about."

Pooja cocked her head and put her glass down on the small, repulsorlift table that hovered to the side, and then laid her hands in her lap, expectant. Leia swallowed, but didn't fidget or shift in her seat.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone about this, Pooja," Leia murmured, leaning closer and watching Pooja's eyebrows fly up on her forehead, but she nodded. "We had an unexpected guest in Aldera over Life Day... Papa recognised him as the son of an old friend and we hosted him until he had to leave."

Biting her lip against her intention, hating to feel uncertain, Leia withdrew the holodevice from the pocket; all there was on it was copied still holograms from the two recordings Luke had sent her. She didn't feel it prudent to give Pooja either of those recordings... well, the first one was _personal_ , so she didn't want to give it to her either way, especially not when he'd talked about his vision on it.

"Our guest didn't know much about his parents, but Papa told him..." Leia let out a slow sigh, and Pooja reached out, quietly encouraging her with the hand she laid on her shoulder, "Pooja... this is Luke. His mother was your aunt."

Leia had to admit she almost shoved the holodevice at the Senator of Naboo after she turned it on, having finished her frankly awkward and terrible explanation. Pooja fumbled with the holodevice, catching it before it fell even though it would only have bounced down on the couch between them. She looked like she was about to faint.

"Leia, this _isn't funny_. My aunt died _pregnant_ , the child..." trailing off, Pooja, extremely reluctantly, lifted the holodevice higher, to look closer at the frozen image of a very bashful-looking Luke. 

A couple of adjustments later and she had zoomed in on his face. Stared. 

"The... are you _sure_?" Her voice wavered, thick and full of tears, and Leia felt terrible, even if she was sure Pooja and her family would want this when it was proven to be true, and _Luke_ wanted this as well.

"Papa was sure. I don't think he'd have told Luke that if it wasn't true."

Pooja was still staring at the holo, then, seemingly realising there were more on it than the image she was looking at, started to flick through them. Her hands were steady, but there was a wet shine in her eyes.

"He's _sure_?" 

Leia nodded, gathering patience around her but wishing Luke could've been here. Mentally cursed him for not being here. She was pretty sure that had been what he'd _intended_ when he'd agreed to her offer; it was certainly what _she_ had intended. Not this. But then, he'd left Alderaan very suddenly for... whatever reason.

"I'm sure Luke would agree to a DNA test if you asked. He just couldn't be here now, but he wanted me to tell you." Maybe she shouldn't promise such a thing in Luke's stead, but she was pretty sure he'd already have offered if he _had_ been here. Pooja looked up suddenly, the holo now displayed an image of Luke and one of his awkward smiles.

"His father was... Anakin Skywalker, wasn't he?" There was something amused in Pooja's voice in the middle of the unshed tears clinging there, and Leia, after a pause, nodded.

"I want to talk to him."

She couldn't help her smile and the relief that bloomed up; for Luke and for Pooja both. This was what she'd hoped would be the result, though she'd honestly expected to have to go home with an answer that basically amounted to 'I need to process this'. Pooja, however, was apparently ahead of her and, well. She shouldn't have been surprised. The woman made her decisions quickly. Perhaps even when she shouldn't, but Leia would say nothing - it wasn't like she didn't recognise the trait.


	40. Polis Massa I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke gets somewhere (with Artoo's help) that'll get him patched up after his adventure on Coruscant.

The whole of him _ached_.

It made it hard to concentrate on the tasks he needed to do, like follow the plotted course Artoo had given him to get through this asteroid field to the giant one that had an actual settlement on it. Polis Massa, apparently. Trying to sit still in the pilot's chair and do what he needed to, that was, to fly, Luke bit his lip, tensed his shoulders and thighs and winced.

Tried to relax, and didn't really succeed. 

Over two days after leaving Coruscant and basically the whole of his body was covered in bruises. He was purple-black, yellow, green and angry red all over. Not to talk about his left ankle, which throbbed dully, even through the stabilising wrappings. The only thing he'd really been able to fix with the ship's medical supplies had been the burns on his fingers from when they'd gotten blasted by the vents on one of the speeders he'd fallen onto and a few of the largest bruises.

There'd been painkillers, of course, and he'd used them to get some proper sleep, but you couldn't pop those constantly... and he'd run out, anyway. Which made him feel guilty; another thing he needed to replace before he returned the ship to the Organas.

"Why'd you take us here, anyway, Artoo?" Luke asked as he carefully set the yacht down in the hangar he'd been directed towards, glancing down at Artoo when the ship's engines were off. Artoo whistled something Luke was pretty sure had to do with his injuries - neither Threepio nor Artoo had been happy or impressed by the bruises or his injured ankle and shoulder - and Threepio stuck his head into the cockpit.

"Artoo says there's a medical facility here, which, if I may say so Master Luke, both of us strongly suggest you avail yourself of," Threepio said and Luke didn't need an interpreter to hear the admonishing agreement in Artoo's beeps this time. He was, he noted, even as he rolled his eyes, getting better at interpreting Artoo's binary.

"You know, I'm pretty sure there's medical facilities I could've used far closer to Coruscant than two days in hyperspace and out in the Outer Rim," Luke said as he eyed the map and their highlighted position, shaking his head. But, he couldn't really complain, he supposed... 

Well, beyond the fact that he'd rather have wanted some relief a lot earlier, but maybe it really was better they were out here where a visit would go unnoticed...

Blinking, Luke looked up to stare out the cockpit's viewport. 

He was becoming paranoid. 

Who was going to notice a random visit to a med center somewhere, regardless of if it happened in the Core or in the Outer Rim? He'd gotten both out of and into the spaceport proper in Coruscant fine, so that meant the arrest for his desertion was still only a Navy matter, he was pretty sure. And it was probably just a chance circumstance that someone who could tell he was Force-sensitive had met him and chased after him outside the Imperial Palace.

Anyway, they'd gotten away _fine_.

If with a lot of bruises and a sprained ankle and his shoulder... he wasn't sure what was wrong with it, but he _had_ landed on it pretty hard.

"Okay, let's see about this. Threepio, you stay with the ship, Artoo, you can come with me," Luke said, standing up - and immediately had to grab onto the control panel for support as his ankle screamed at him and he almost collapsed down into the pilot's seat again. Gritting his teeth and counting up curses in his head, Luke breathed in through his nose and straightened back up again, slowly.

"Master Luke? Are you all right? Oh, how foolish of me, of course you aren't _all right_ , maybe we should request medical assistance here in the yacht instead," Threepio fretted where he hovered just beyond Luke, exclaiming when Artoo pushed past him to Luke's side and turned around, offering himself as support. Luke managed a smile and laid a hand on Artoo's dome.

"No, it's okay, Threepio. Just keep an eye on the ship and Artoo and I'll be back soon, okay?"

He just hoped it wouldn't be _too_ expensive--- his thoughts ground to a halt as he and Artoo left the yacht's ramp, met by an alien that had the strangest eyes (seemingly only dark holes in its white face) and _no mouth_.

"Welcome to Polis Massa, traveller," the alien said - sounding vaguely like a woman, to Luke's ears, but who knew if that assessment was true? - dipping its head in a greeting.

"Uh, hi. I was just--- you have medical facilities, don't you? I don't have much to pay with, but I---"

"We do. However, you will not need to pay," it - she? Luke was, for some reason, starting to be sure this alien was a 'she' - shook her head, giving a slow and elegant, but clearly dismissive wave of one hand, "the facilities are at the disposal of all who currently reside here, and, newly arrived or not, that includes you as well. I can show you the way."

Luke stared, couldn't exactly believe his luck. But he wasn't going to question it either, because he was well aware he did rather need this sort of break. Giving Artoo a careful pat (mostly so he didn't unbalance himself and put too much weight on his left foot again), he smiled at her.

"That's be great, thanks."


	41. Polis Massa II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After getting the necessary medical attention, but before being released, Luke wanders the medical center on Polis Massa...

Luke had tried to argue against the bacta tank - that seemed like wasting a precious resource when it could go to someone (or several someone) who might be far more injured than he was. All his injures were just bruises and sprains and whatnot, not even anything broken! After the medic had had a Twoonebee reset his shoulder and stared at him with those pinhole black eyes silently for a few minutes, Luke had, unnerved, given in.

Five hours later, and he felt as good as new.

Better than, even, and he'd have to thank Artoo for taking them here when he got back to the waiting area and met back up with him, because he was pretty sure that in most other places he wouldn't have gotten this level of treatment, but rather more what he'd ended up trying to argue for. 

Walking around the corridors of the medical facility, hair still damp and a towel around his shoulders as he waited for the medic to be freed up from whatever patient he was now looking after so he could make sure Luke was healed to his satisfaction, Luke had to admit to being bored.

Twoonebee _had_ said he was fit to leave, but the medic had made it clear _he_ would be the final voice of discharge, so that meant that while he'd been allowed to wander - there weren't that many patients in the facility currently, so he wasn't in the way - he wasn't to leave the medical facility itself.

With a sigh, Luke scrubbed a bit half-heartedly at his hair while the corridor became all but abandoned, though he could hear soft conversation just a little further in front of him. Stopping at the wall set with transparisteel windows, Luke peered into the empty... surgery theater? was that what it was and was called?

It was dark, whatever it was, compared to the corridor.

Luke wasn't sure why he'd even walked this far away from the room he'd been put in after they'd hauled him out of the bacta tank. It wasn't really restlessness, but just... 

Frowning, Luke leaned closer to the transparisteel, almost leaning his forehead against it as he peered into the dark room beyond again.

It was...

The lights seemed to flicker, but when he blinked the corridor was still lit and the room was still dark. Luke _almost_ straightened up and stomped back to his room, but he was probably just tired. So instead he raised his hand to shield his view into the surgery from the light behind him, leaning forward to rest his hand against the transparisteel---

_She hurt._

_She hurt and it felt like her innards were squashed against her spine and trying to escape her body at the same time. But that's how it **had** to be, and she focused on the low, soothing voice hovering somewhere down between her legs and tried to calm her heart. It was racing from so many things; the terrified little life clawing its way out of her, the heartbreak of Mustafar, exhaustion from the last few days, tears, fears and the darkness tearing at the edges of her awareness, at the **baby**._

_She would not let the darkness have it._

_She screamed, and pushed, and everything was fire; she was **crying fire** and it hurt so much_ \---

Staggering back, Luke almost fell back onto the floor as he stared into the dark room behind the transparisteel, trying to _breathe_ , almost convinced he couldn't, almost convinced he was burning up.

But no... _he_ was fine.

He was, but the woman - dark curls plastered to her forehead, tickling her skin, distracting - who'd been fighting for her life and for the life of the baby she was giving birth to, hadn't been.

Squeezing his eyes closed and balling his hands into fists, Luke concentrated on breathing and tried to make sense of what he'd seen, or maybe more like _felt_. It didn't make much sense, though. He didn't understand why he'd seen that. 

It was... kind of, like the vision of Alderaan's destruction; of Leia, her parents, Ben and Ahsoka lying dead on the floors of Aldera's palace, but also... not. There was no sense of urgency, of _reality_ now that it was over, aside from the very real emotions and urgency the woman had felt, and he didn't understand.

Pulling the towel up over his head and scrubbing his face - realising there were tears that could be dried up was startling - Luke took a slow, measured breath. Was he supposed to help her? Was the name of the planet (he thought that's what it was), _Mustafar_ , was that important? Was it the _baby_ that was important?

The Force, when he reached for it, was a glittering pool of calm life; vaguely he could follow the little flames of the medical staff and the patients in the facility, though further away the feeling collapsed into a bright, if muddled, warmth as he wasn't strong, or maybe trained enough yet, to tell the individual beings apart. 

There was no sense of urgency.

_What you saw, Luke, might be the future. Visions are hard to interpret, but sometimes they come to us when we meditate. You may also see the past._

Ben's words echoing through his head, Luke frowned.

Had that been what it was? The past? But what was the point of seeing the _past_?

The corridor suddenly feeling very lonely and the darkness from the surgery theatre heavy with some sort of wistful sadness, Luke turned on his heel and left to go back. Maybe the medic was done and he could be discharged and go back to the yacht and Threepio with Artoo. He could think about that vision _there_ instead of here.

He still didn't understand why he'd seen it... felt it, so much. Maybe he could ask Ben or Ahsoka whenever he met them after he was done having to avoid them.


	42. Polis Massa III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a bit homesickness, and then Threepio calls about a call.

Wandering the small shopping area the settlement had to offer, Luke wasn't even really looking for anything. A severe constraint of the availability of credits was still an issue, after all, so while he'd seen several very nice tools and, in a tiny toy shop, a number of great model ships that made him remember the single one he had at home (one of a T-16 Skyhopper) and then remember _home_ , Luke had restrained himself.

Restrained himself and suddenly didn't feel like going back to the yacht, or much of anything, really. Finding a bench to slump down on, Luke dragged a hand through his hair and stared at the floor. Artoo beeped a question as he rolled to a stop beside the bench, but Luke just shrugged, not sure what to say to explain what he felt.

He'd wanted off Tatooine for _years_ , and then Uncle Owen finally allowed him to send in his application, a year after Biggs had left. 

Then... all of _this_ had happened and right now all he wanted to was to be able to give Aunt Beru a hug and listen to Uncle Owen grumble. He didn't really want to go back to the homestead to stay, though; the jumps into hyperspace he'd gotten to see when on Karrde's ship, and the one he'd done himself from Alderaan merely cemented his desire to keep flying.

Then there was the... Force. And his father having been a Jedi Knight, and he wanted _that_ , too.

But sitting here in a settlement on an utterly strange asteroid, alone but for Artoo and Threepio, the beings passing by all of them mostly the same pin-hole-eyed, pale-faced ones that seemed to be the majority of the population here, Luke missed his aunt and uncle. He missed the dry, relentless heat of the suns - nothing ever seemed quite warm enough away from Tatooine, especially not on a ship - and he maybe, even, just a tiny bit missed the sand.

... No, not that.

He couldn't say he hated sand, he was so _used_ to it, but after getting off Tatooine it'd been a startling sensation to suddenly wake up one day and realise there _wasn't_ any stray sand somewhere. It was nice not having to deal with it. Scrubbing his face, Luke sighed and sat up again. Well, either way he couldn't just sit around here all day---

His comlink went off.

Staring at it for a flabbergasted moment, Luke wondered what Threepio could even need to comm him about that couldn't wait until he was back. Then, worried, he snatched the comlink up and accepted the transmission.

"Threepio? What's going on? You okay?" He hoped he was. No one could've followed them, right? They got off Coruscant _easy_ , so no actual authorities could've been tipped off... Artoo added his own concerned twittering, which made Luke remember the little droid was right there with him and he laid a hand on top of his dome to reassure them both.

"Oh, Master Luke! Yes, everything is perfectly all right," Threepio answered brightly, and Luke let out a breath. Well, that was one worry less, since Threepio, as far as Luke could tell, wasn't anything you could call an _actor_. If anyone had forced him to make the transmission, Threepio wouldn't have been able to not let that be noticed.

"But, oh, yes, Sir! There's an incoming transmission for you, from Princess Leia. She wishes to speak to you as soon as possible. Should I tell her to comm later?" If anything, the fact that Threepio had an actual reason that coupled neatly with at least part of his programming made him sound even more, ah... uptight, than usual.

Luke would've smiled and rolled his eyes, but he was already jumping off the bench and running down the corridor, Artoo shrieking exasperatedly behind him. He'd catch up.

"No! I'm coming! If she can wait until I get there, I'm gonna be back in a few minutes!"

He had no idea what it was she wanted, but he sure wanted to find out.


	43. Polis Massa IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke has a comm conversation with Leia and his cousin! Some possible plans are made.

It took almost ten minutes until he was running up the ramp - he'd gotten further away from the hangar the yacht was in than he'd thought, but hopefully Leia would still be waiting. At least he wasn't out of breath or staggering into the yacht, not with a few months of academy training _and_ the training he'd gotten from Ben and Ahsoka behind him.

"Master Luke, the transceiver is---"

"Thanks, Threepio!" Luke called as he threw himself into the gravity couch and picked up the transceiver where it was on the table, smiling as the holo of Leia lifted her head from where she's obviously started to do other things while waiting for him to make an appearance. "Uh--- Hi, Leia. Sorry for letting you wait. Everything okay?"

Suddenly he was worried about Leia, Alderaan, the Organas and Ben and Ahsoka, thinking again about the vision he'd had, but Leia just smiled, shaking her head.

"Everything's _fine_ , Luke..." she paused, shrugging, her smile turning into a very familiar stern little frown, "as far as I know. Are _you_ all right?"

Shifting a little in his seat at both the pointed look Leia gave him as well as her very pointed _tone_ , Luke finally shrugged. He'd have assured her he absolutely was, but she'd seen (part of) him right after they'd left Coruscant. So he couldn't really lie, even if he'd actually been very good at lying to people in general, and people he knew in particular. Which he wasn't.

"I am _now_ ," he said instead, shrugging again, "it's okay, Artoo took us to a place with a medical facility and I'm all fixed up now."

"What _happened_?" The blue-tinged holo of Leia frowned and she leaned forward a little, sticking her chin out. He would not flush. He knew going to Coruscant, or at least getting close to the Imperial Palace, had been a very bad idea.

"I... wanted to see the Jedi Temple... if there was anything left," he said after a moment and forged on ahead through Leia's gasp and the furious expression that flashed over her face, "I didn't _know_ it was the Imperial Palace! And I guess someone in there picked up on me being... Force-sensitive, since that's why I had to run."

If anything, the expression on Leia's face got even _more_ vicious, but she sort of lost some of her steam when a gasp could be heard, just barely picked up by the transceiver's mic, out of view of the recorder. Luke blinked and suddenly wondered if he should terminate the call right then and there, because apparently Leia had someone _with her_ \---

"It's okay, Luke," Leia quickly said, shaking her head, the multiple braids hanging in loops from the back of her head swaying with the motion, her frown back to 'normal', "well, it's not _all right_ , because that was really stupid! But it's okay, the only other person in here with me at the moment is someone you'll want to talk to."

She paused, actually smiling a little, and Luke was sure there was, briefly, something like an awkward little flush on her cheeks before she straightened up, holding an arm out.

"She definitely wants to talk to _you_."

Heart suddenly loud in his ears and up in his throat, Luke realised - just _knew_ \- who it was Leia was waving to come into view of the transceiver's recorder, and he'd thought this would have to wait until later. He'd sort of planned just to visit Naboo and then go... somewhere else, he wasn't sure.

But here Leia had apparently, still, despite him not being able to be there, approached the Senator of Naboo (his _cousin_ ) and talked to her. 

Swallowing as the woman came into view, Luke briefly wondered if Leia had invited one of her aunts and not the Senator. Then he realised how silly that was; he'd seen holos of Leia's aunts, and they looked nothing like Leia. They looked a whole lot like Breha and Bail, but not _Leia_.

(It was at that moment Luke realised, feeling rather foolish, that Leia must be adopted. He hadn't thought about it before, not even once in the more than three weeks he'd been on Alderaan.)

"... Hello, Luke," the Senator of Naboo said slowly, a tentative smile on her face. Beyond the holographic blue tint, she was pale-skinned and had her hair pinned up to fall like a cascade of curls from the top of her head and he could instantly see the similarity to his mother. It was both startling and reassuring, weirdly enough.

"Hi," he said and suddenly couldn't remember if Leia had mentioned the Senator's name or not, or if the information he'd read had mentioned what the current Senator of Naboo was called... trying to remember, Luke was rescued by Leia, who'd leaned in again a little, gesturing between them.

"Pooja Naberrie, meet Luke Skywalker," Leia said, smiling, and she met his grateful glance with a brief, deeper quirk to the corner of her mouth. Then she sat back, however, slightly to the side but still in view of the recorder and Luke was left staring at Pooja.

His cousin.

And she looked so similar to Leia - the clothes, the elegant hairstyle, the collected expression - that he didn't know what to say. Because compared to Leia, where there'd been an instant, if awkward, connection, here it was like... The connection was there, of course, but it was one that lay in the similar angles to their noses, the tilt of the jawline, the knowledge that Pooja's... mother, that was right, was his mother's sister.

It wasn't the same thing as whatever the connection he'd sort of instantly gotten with Leia was. Pooja suddenly sighed, and there was another small, vaguely hesitant smile on her face.

"Looking at you... I don't think a DNA test will be necessary, but it's still for the best, if you'd be up to it?" Pooja said, her soft brown eyes suddenly sharp as she stared at him, and Luke was left blinking. Belatedly, he nodded.

"... sure? I mean, I could do something here but it wouldn't be safe to send anything over, would it? Or could it wait until I went to Naboo?" flushing, then, as he realised he'd just basically committed to _not just_ going to Naboo, but searching out his mother's family as well, Luke shrugged and then looked back at Pooja determinedly.

"It--- wouldn't be safe no. But if you _are_ , if you can... I can talk to my mother and we could arrange a meeting for you..." Pooja said, frowning. Luke got the impression she'd rather have waited with involving her family, and he could understand the sentiment. 

This was... large enough. _Awkward_ enough. 

She glanced from him to Leia and then back, "I would rather meet you myself first, but I can't leave Coruscant in the next few weeks, and you coming back here would obviously be a terrible idea, from what you told Leia of your recent visit."

He flushed at the reminder, embarrassed to be reminded that Leia wasn't the _only_ one who knew about that ill-advised visit; that _Pooja_ did as well. He huffed a little and frowned at Leia, who, clearly understanding what he was frowning at her for, shrugged and looked entirely unrepentant.

"I was planning on going there either way, I just... hadn't thought I might go there and meet any of you _right now_ ," Luke said, feeling an awkward smile escape him, "especially since I couldn't go meet Leia and be there when she told you." Luke shrugged, and noticed how Pooja relaxed when he mentioned he'd intended to be there. Which he definitely _had_ intended, but things hadn't exactly developed like he'd thought back when Leia had offered to introduce him to the Senator of Naboo when they were still both on Alderaan.

Before that vision.

"I will... talk to my mother as soon as possible, and arrange something between the two of you," Pooja said with a smile, but then frowned, "Luke... where were you raised? With _whom_?"

She sounded concerned - but that wasn't really a bad thing, and she didn't know about his aunt and uncle. Not that she'd be particularly reassured by hearing _where_ he'd been raised, he didn't think. Tatooine wasn't exactly the place anyone would think of as a 'safe place to raise a baby', he knew that.

"Tatooine. My aunt and uncle live there," he smiled, even if that brought back the stab of homesickness and missing them, "they're good people."

Pooja was clearly attempting to take that reply with grace and _not_ look as dismayed as she clearly was. Luke wasn't sure what he felt about that, but well. Tatooine was Tatooine. He could understand _that_ part.

"If they raised you, I have no doubt they are," Pooja finally said, and the smile as well as the warmth in her voice was genuine, which made Luke relax and grin back.

"Give me a few days, Luke, and I'm sure my mother will be more than happy and able to give you a place to stay," Pooja added and Luke mentally appended _after they'd had that blood test_ , but he couldn't resent them that. He wanted to check as well, just to be _sure_. Having more family than Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru still seemed a bit too fantastic to be really true.

"I can survive a few more days," he said out loud and smiled, didn't even mean anything but what he just said, but Leia huffed loudly and raised her finger at him, and Pooja looked torn between being concerned and laughing.

"And you _better_ , Luke! Considering you didn't even go a day uninjured after leaving Alderaan, I'm not sure I trust your abilities to stay safe," Leia said and scowled at him, and now he couldn't help himself and laughed.

"I _promise_ , Leia. What's going to happen between here and Naboo?" shrugging, Luke tried to ignore the sudden, pinching chill that nipped at the back of his neck. Leia frowned but nodded slowly, and Pooja's smile was warm.

They cut the transmission shortly after, and Luke collapsed back against the gravity couch with an explosive sigh. Artoo rolled up alongside the couch, twittering inquisitively.

"I'm... fine, Artoo. Just... hadn't expected that, you know?" dragging a hand through his hair, Luke sighed and was grateful for Artoo's bulk as he rolled as close as he could and pressed against Luke's leg, beeping quietly. "I think we should go there before Pooja comms back, though..."

Even so, as Luke tilted his head back to stare up at the yacht's ceiling, there were other things than Naboo and the possible family visit that bubbled up to the surface; Tatooine and his aunt and uncle. That... vision thing he'd had in the medical facility.

The woman's anguish and concern that was tied to _Mustafar_. 

Luke fell asleep like that, and woke a few hours later with an unpleasantly stiff neck.


	44. Mustafar I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You shouldn't let your wandering thoughts interfere when you enter hyperspace coordinates for the navicomputer.

"No, we're not waiting for Pooja and Leia to call back," Luke shook his head as he eased the yacht up in the air the next morning. He had no idea when Leia and his cousin (his _cousin_!) had called yesterday, relative Coruscanti time. It'd been early evening (as much as such counted on an asteroid) on Polis Massa, but that didn't really mean anything when it came to Coruscant.

Artoo made a splat noise and then let out a string of whistles.

"I want to get to Naboo before that... look around a little, that's all," Luke said with a shrug, and he meant it; he didn't even want to try and figure out where his family on Naboo might live currently. He just wanted to... look around. Maybe find his mother's grave and... swallowing, Luke shook his head again, dodging asteroids with ease as he flew away from Polis Massa.

He was used to his family being nothing more than graves, but after so long it was odd to think that his mother actually had one. That his mother was enough of a presence that she'd left something like that behind. That she wasn't just a nebulous concept of 'woman who gave birth to me' and who was also dead. She was, had been, somebody, and had left a trace.

An _intergalactic_ trace, and an impressive such, as well.

Shaking himself when Artoo twittered a question as they came out of the asteroid field around Polis Massa, Luke swung the pilot's chair around towards the right station.

"No, let me do it. I need to get some practice with the navicomputer," Luke said as he leaned over it, bringing up the vector for Naboo. As he glanced over it, one of the planets roughly along the same route caught his gaze.

Mustafar.

Brown hair plastered with sweat and tears and _so tired_ and _worried_ \---

He shook his head, frowned, and entered the coordinates, then let the navicomputer do its work while he turned back to the controls again. Leaning forward, he stared out at the glittering stars, the Polis Massa asteroid field hovering in the upper left of the cockpit viewport. Threepio was out in the main hold complaining about space travel again. Artoo slung out a few twittered comments towards the protocol droid, which earned an offended cry and a huffy reprimand from Threepio.

Smiling, Luke drummed his fingers against the control panel, around the levers, screens and buttons, mind drifting to the first time he'd heard about Naboo. Aunt Beru had been teaching him about the Emperor, and how he was the Chancellor before that, come to that station from his tenure as Senator of Naboo.

She'd described it as a pretty place, full of water and _trees_.

The words 'Emperor', 'Chancellor' and 'Senator' hadn't meant much to six-year-old Luke, but 'water' and 'trees' captured his interest and even more than that, his confusion. What did trees even look like? Aunt Beru had laughed and a few days later she'd taken him into Anchorhead to use the local Holonet connection, bringing up images - first from Naboo, then other planets, to show him what trees looked like.

They'd seemed completely imaginary even on the holos. Impossible, fairy tale things---

The navicomputer beeped, and Luke jerked upright.

Well, he wasn't six anymore, and there'd been trees at the Academy as well as on Alderaan... and now he'd get to see even more of them. With a grin, Luke angled the yacht a little better and pulled the hyperspace lever, grinning as they made they jump to lightspeed, leaving his spot to go find the holos he'd brought with him. Maybe it was just because it was on his mind, but he wanted to look through them. Especially the ones with his mother, but _all_ of them.

Luke didn't really expect the lightspeed exit warning to sound only a few hours later - according to his estimate, it should've been quite a few more hours until they were close to Naboo. Had he done something wrong? Dropping the datapad he'd been reading, Luke dashed back into the cockpit and pulled the lever at the second warning and stared.

This...

Artoo trilled sharply as he came rolling into the cockpit, and Threepio stuck his head in as well.

"Oh, my! This is not Naboo, is it, Master Luke?"

Groaning loudly, Luke threw Artoo a glare, then one at Threepio - and the immediately felt bad about it even if Threepio didn't react much.

"I can _see_ this isn't Naboo, Artoo! And no, Threepio, it isn't, I must've done... something---" Blinking as he settled properly into the pilot's chair, Luke realised he hadn't done anything wrong. Technically, anyway. Thinking back on what his fingers had been doing and on the coordinates that had been in his head... No, he might not have been thinking about it, but he'd done exactly what had been on his mind at that moment when he was hovering over the navicomputer.

Mustafar.

That was why they were now looking at a hotly glowing coal of a planet, not a green-and-blue jewel veiled in white.

"Well, I guess since we're _here_..." he muttered and ignored Artoo's sharp, protesting whistle. It shouldn't be dangerous, should it? Whatever the woman had experienced on Mustafar was _years_ back (how he knew that, he wasn't sure, but he did know it), so it should be--- The yacht's comm crackled, making all three of the yacht's occupants jump.

"Unidentified civilian yacht, this is a restricted system as per the order of the Emperor. Stand by and prepare for docking procedures. Resistance will be responded to with lethal force." The cool, clipped tones of some Core Worlder or other floated through the cockpit, and Luke almost threw himself out of his seat as he tried to get a view of...

"Oh, _stars_ ," he didn't say it so much as he _breathed_ the two words out as he stared up at the barely visible pointed edge of a Star Destroyer, with more behind it. This system had, for whatever reason, a full _fleet_ assigned to it. "Artoo, get us out of here! Get the navicomputer to calculate a jump to Naboo!"

Yanking on the controls and literally sending the little yacht jumping forward, Luke ignored Threepio's cry as he was sent tumbling to the deck and barely listened to Artoo's confirming beeps. At least there was no lecturing from the astromech, for the moment, anyway. 

Sending the yacht spiralling away and yanking the throttle as far as it could go, Luke turned the comm off when the Imperial officer protested his actions, again warning that any avoidance to being detained would be answered with deadly force.

They weren't going to be around for long enough for _that_ , even less to get detained. Well, he _hoped_. Gritting his teeth as he juked out of the way of the lasers being spat at him, Luke was relieved they were too far away for the tractorbeam to be effective just yet. But that wouldn't last long at this rate.

" _Artoo_?!" Luke called as he dove away, trying to throw off the tractorbeam operator's calculations, and the droid whistled sharply - he felt a tug on their aft, a teasing bite of arrested movement... Then the yacht shot forward with pseudomotion as the stars elongated and then turned into blue mottling.

That... was way too close.


	45. Hyperspace Interlude V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Say hello to our resident Nightsister!
> 
> (Who is merely named for the Clone Wars Nightsister Mother Talzin, and is, compared to Mother Jade, an actual OC.)

Eyeing the information packet that had come through the encrypted comlink frequency that was her only contact with her employer, Nightsister Talzin pursed her lips. Aside from not expecting an update this soon after taking on the mission and getting all the original information, there was a few ways to use the new bits of information. 

It took barely half a thought to go for the most logical course of action and key in the information in the computer to get a vector calculation and the planets contained within that vector. The issue wasn't the vector, really; the issue was the _number of planets_ within said vector.

And there was _a lot_ of planets.

But Talzin had more than one way to figure out where her target might venture; Mother had, after all, said that she should come to her if she was uncertain, since she might have insights Talzin wouldn't be able to get from what she had available. Leaving the cockpit and leaving the vector calculation running, Talzin sat down at the ship's commstation and keyed in a frequency that was both unfamiliar and not.

Unfamiliar as she had never needed to use it prior to this, having been off-world only a few times before. Familiar as she'd known it before she ever left Dathomir the first time.

"Talzin," Mother said, not smiling, but she rarely did; she didn't need to smile for Talzin to know the woman was greeting her with pleased warmth.

"Mother," she said and dipped her head in greeting, pulling down the mask off her mouth to give Mother the smile she wouldn't - perhaps couldn't - give her Sisters, "I just got an updated location; the target was, almost certainly, seen making a brief appearance in the Mustafar system one day ago. He fled almost immediately, probably due to the presence of the small Imperial fleet stationed there. No ident information was retained other than the type of ship, which is common enough."

Mother nodded, but said nothing, waiting for her to continue, her pale, sharp eyes narrowed.

"This is the vector," she paused long enough to send the information, and tilted her head, "you said to contact you with any information I couldn't make immediate use of, since you might have more insights." Talzin waited quietly, taking out one of her vibroknives and running a cloth over the handle while Mother reviewed the vector calculation.

She looked up when Mother began to laugh, her sharp, nearly mocking amusement not aimed at _Talzin_ , however.

"Oh, I believe I can help you, indeed," Mother said after another moment of quiet chuckles, a hairless eyebrow arched high on her forehead, "very much. While there's no guarantee your target has the information necessary, and the vector chosen might simply be coincidence... I believe I know the planet you should lay low at and search around on for a little while before you start looking at the other planets along either the Hydian Way or the Rimma Trade Route." Mother sounded so viciously amused Talzin allowed herself a smirk, even if she didn't know the _context_. 

In Talzin's opinion, whatever made Mother amused was good enough for her. Mother had far too few things to be amused by.


	46. Coruscant VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pooja makes a family call to pass on the revelation she's been given, plans are made.

Pooja had been sitting in front of her holotransceiver in her office for nearly half an hour now. If she was going to make the comm today, it would have to happen soon. She still didn't know how she was going to break the news, though then, maybe Leia's approach had been as close to a good one as one could hope.

Nothing for it.

Straightening up, she brought up the frequency she needed and connected, waiting for the transmission to go through. It took a little longer than she'd have expected, and when the holo flickered to life, she was not looking at who she'd expected to be looking at. 

At _all_.

"Ryoo?" Blinking, Pooja sat back heavily in the chair, some of her hard-won determination gone right out of her. Though maybe, she thought, as she watched her older sister cock a challenging eyebrow, this would be better.

"Not happy to see me?" Ryoo said with dry amusement, though there was an edge there. Pooja shook her head and leaned forward, hand twitching with the aborted desire to take hold of Ryoo's hand and squeeze. 

"Surprised, is all. You're usually never..." she shook her head again, waved the earlier misbehaving hand in the air even as Ryoo shrugged.

"Life Day exception."

Quite a bit longer than just a Life Day exception, and Pooja was happy for it. She hoped Ryoo _knew that_ (was rather sure she did), and while their mother was disappointed regarding some of Ryoo's choices the biggest issue was their grandparents... Straightening up again, she sighed. She had to stop this; at this point she was only stalling.

"Where's Mom and Dad, Ryoo? And our grandparents?" Maybe she could just talk to all of them at once, though that was a daunting prospect on its own. Maybe she was a bit of a coward, thinking to dump this on one of them and having them tell the others. 

"Outside with Vaneé and Olis. We're going home tomorrow. Want me to get them?" Ryoo was already standing up, and even if Pooja hadn't caught the slight tension in her face, she'd have leaned forward to stop her.

"Ryoo, wait," she said, smiling a little when her sister stopped, but didn't sit down again, "I want to talk to you, later. I'll call in a few days and see how things are, but for now you should... get them. I have something _all_ of you need to hear." She closed her eyes, convincing herself that she could do this, that she shouldn't just tell Ryoo, or have Ryoo get Mom and tell _her_ and let either of them forward the news to the rest.

"Pooja, are you okay? Has something happened?" And just like that, any earlier feeling of being slighted or pushed aside was gone from Ryoo's being, her expression instead having darkened into one Pooja recognised well. 

She managed not to smile in the face of Ryoo's protective anger, merely nodded. Ryoo stared at her for a moment longer, and then, if not convinced or satisfied, at least accepting that Pooja wouldn't say anything at the moment - but she could ask her later.

Her sister left then, and Pooja spent a few minutes in nervous silence, turning the holodevice containing the holos of Luke Leia had given her over in her hands. She could do this. She _should_ do this, though she still wished she could give them the news with more certainty, more _proof_. Not that she didn't believe what Bail Organa had told Luke, but... it wasn't the same thing, and there was more than one person in her family who would be badly affected if it turned out to be a lie.

When the family came trooping back in, it was with an overexcited two year old and a five month old baby as well, the latter still held in his great-grandmother's arms. Pooja smiled, both at the baby and her grandmother, then at her grandfather and parents while Ryoo tried to settle Vaneé. After five minutes she finally managed, partly thanks to the help of a datapad.

Pooja wasn't sure whether she was glad for the longer respite, or if it was a frustrating prolongation of her torture.

"Ryoo said you had something to tell us, Pooja?" Sola asked, frowning and already looking worried while Darred laid a hand on top of one of hers. Pooja breathed out slowly and nodded.

"This... isn't going to be easy for any of you to hear. It's not been easy for _me_ , either, but I believe I've been told the truth. But you should make sure to check when you can. Just to make sure," Pooja said, and knew she was stalling again, but on the other hand, how _did_ one gracefully lead into something like this? She just wanted them to know that she believed what she was about to tell them.

"Out with it, Pooja," Ryoo said, rolling her eyes and earning herself glares from all but her father (and Vaneé, who was busy with her datapad). Pooja chuckled and squeezed the holodevice, remembering the earnest blond boy and knew this was what had to be done.

"I just learned Aunt Padmé was made to look like she was still pregnant at her funeral," swallowing, Pooja looked from face to face and little Olis squeaked in discontent when Jobal squeezed the poor baby in a suddenly tight grip, and her grandfather's expression was darkening - Mom wasn't looking very pleased either. "I spoke with Senator Organa a short while ago, who told me her father had told a guest of theirs that his mother was Padmé Amidala. Aunt Padmé had a son."

Her throat was tight and her hand ached where she was clutching the holodevice and she looked to Ryoo, focused on her older sister to get away from the shocked, nearly empty-looking stares of the rest of their family. Ryoo, who was frowning slightly but met her gaze with a nod and, somehow, an encouraging smile.

"We have a cousin," she said, speaking only to her sister for those few words, then looked to her parents and grandparents, and while she couldn't repeat what she'd just said to Ryoo, she managed a pale smile, "I talked to him yesterday. His name's Luke Skywalker."

The silence clung, and then stretched.

Olis whined and then started to cry, and Ryoo got up from her chair and walked around the gathering (disappearing and reappearing in the holo as she walked) and plucked her baby from her grandmother's slack arms.

"I _knew it_ ," Ryoo said, out of view of the holo's reach now, voice drifting into the recording ethereally, "I think I'm jealous."

Pooja burst out laughing as their mother jerked around in her seat and threw out a sharp, gasped "Ryoo!" before she hid her face in her hands and... yes, chuckled. It was strangled and almost broken, but there.

"You believe them?" Jobal's voice was quiet as she leaned forward, clutching Ruwee, and Pooja straightened up, taking a breath to still the amused, if nervous, laughter.

"I don't think Bail Organa would say such a thing if it wasn't true, and Luke's agreed to a test when he comes to Naboo... if you'd want to meet him."

"If?" her father said, sounding dryly amused. Pooja felt something like another smile pull at her lips as she met his gaze, relieved at the quiet support there.

"Leia and I are going to make another comm soon, we could arrange a meeting, maybe Ryoo could pick him up and take him back to you?" Pooja glanced to her sister as she spoke, who frowned and then shook her head.

"I could meet him, but I really need to get back to work, at least for a little while, so flying him back up here wouldn't really be possible. Mom, could you..."

Sola, staring at the table, was quiet for a moment before she breathed out slowly and nodded.


	47. Naboo I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke _actually_ arrives at Naboo this time!

When the yacht dropped out of hyperspace this time, the planet that hung distantly in view was what Luke had expected it to be; blue and green and wreathed in white. 

The three moons strung around it, though, made it feel more familiar, despite the jewel-like tones of the greens and blues. His breath caught a little in his throat as he watched; more, perhaps, because of what this planet _was_ than its beauty, even if it definitely _was_ beautiful.

The comm warbled.

Jerking, Luke stared at it for a startled moment, then realised there was a Star Destroyer orbiting the planet. Briefly, panic stabbed through him - maybe he should turn around right now, what if they--- Closing his eyes and his hands for a moment, balling them into fists, Luke breathed out. Naboo wasn't a restricted system. It would, obviously, be under a bit more surveillance since it was the Emperor's home planet, but... that was it.

Letting the breath he'd been holding out slowly, Luke pushed the button to open the comm.

"Yes?" He really hoped his voice hadn't cracked just now, and that they didn't ask why he'd taken such time to respond.

"State your business for coming to Naboo," the comm officer on the other side drawled, sounding utterly bored in the way only those performing routine tasks could be - and a routine task that was going as it would be expected to. Apparently he hadn't taken as much time hesitating before he'd responded as he _thought_ he had.

"Um, visiting family," Luke said, once again hoping his voice didn't crack and clinging to the simple fact that it was true. Because it _was_ true, even if he didn't even up visiting the Naberries this time; he was still going to visit family.

Just... not any that was _alive_.

"Transfer the records for the last three hyperspace jumps."

Feeling something huge bubble up and press down on his heart and throat, Luke leaned forward in his seat and had _no idea_ what to say or do, because if they found out he'd been in the Mustafar system, however briefly---

Artoo chirped cheerfully and plugged into the ship's computer before Luke could stop him, and he stared at the little droid and waved his hands in the air at the comm; Artoo just twirled his dome around to him, lights blinking.

"Coruscant, Polis Massa and Eriadu?" the man on the other side paused, and Luke could well imagine the squint he probably sported the way he'd drawled Polis Massa. Luke didn't care though, had already half an idea of what to say to the probably inevitable question. He was, however, a little busy staring at Artoo and the fact that, somehow, Artoo had forged or changed their hyperspace jump logs...

"Why Polis Massa?"

"I wanted to see the asteroid field. It's pretty amazing it's been a planet once, isn't it?" It was what he'd thought when he'd found out about Polis Massa's particulars, but that wasn't, of course, why they'd _actually_ gone there, and Luke _knew_ he wasn't very good at lying, so he just had to hope...

"Proceed."

The comm went dead, and Luke collapsed against the seat with an explosive sigh. _Stars_! 

"Thanks for rescuing us, Artoo," Luke said, looking down at the droid who beeped smugly. After a few seconds he felt up to actually doing something and gently eased the yacht down towards Naboo, eyeing the map projection and was about to steer towards the capital when Artoo warbled.

"Huh? What is it, Artoo?"

The little droid rolled up, plugged in again, and soon an alternate course was being displayed on the map. It would still take him to Theed, but it was an otherwise rather... roundabout flight. Eyebrows rising up on his forehead, Luke looked down at the astromech.

"Why do you want me to follow _that_ course?"

Artoo only whistled innocently, and Luke was pretty sure it was an 'you'll see' comment.

Eyeing the little droid, Luke shrugged and changed course; if it was actually dangerous, Artoo wouldn't have blatantly pointed him in this direction. Sure, he hadn't stopped him from going to Imperial Center, but he _had_ protested. He'd probably also have protested if Luke had actually been aware of what he was doing when entering the coordinates for Mustafar and mentioning going there.

So, it ought to be safe.

'Safe' turned out to be an understatement; Luke was pretty sure there couldn't be a single dangerous thing about the landscape he was cruising relatively low over. Rolling hills ending abruptly in cliffs from which waterfalls cascaded, rivers carving slow, meandering routes over and around the yellowing grassy mounds...

Sunlight streamed down, turning the rivers into glittering bands of crystal and burnishing the backs of some round, short-legged creatures that wandered in herds across the plateaus and hills, and Luke couldn't stop _staring_. It was like something out of the stories Aunt Beru used to tell him. Alderaan had been close to what he was seeing - Leia had showed him images from other locations on the planet, of wide-stretched plains and forests, but... _still_.

It wasn't like _this_.

The thought hung, captivated, as the yacht came out over a lake, large houses dotting the shore, and an island with a house as well. He looked down at it as they passed, feeling the strangest urge to land and have a look around. But that was surely a private building... He shook his head and pulled away, turning back to the course Artoo had plotted to actually get to Theed.

After that... Well. 

He'd have a look around and ask around, he supposed. Someone ought to know what he wanted to find, right?


	48. Naboo II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a visit to the memorial gardens, and a comm from Leia.

"It's only open to the public on special occasions, young man. Otherwise it's family, friends of family and the Queen only."

The only thing that was vaguely reassuring by hearing that the tomb of Queen and former Senator Amidala was closed was that the woman didn't appear to think it was a strange question. Which meant he hadn't just pointed some sort of obvious target on his back. Resisting the urge to say that he _was_ family, Luke nodded, shoulders slumping a little and sighing even when he tried not to.

And apparently he looked pathetic enough the woman - working at the spaceport's info desk, something Luke would almost have expected there to be a droid for, but here there were only people manning the desk - smiled sympathetically at him.

"There's a memorial garden as well, which is open to the public year round. It's not quite the same thing, but it might still be of interest?"

And while it wasn't at all what he wanted, Luke still found himself nodding and getting directions to this 'memorial garden'. That it was a garden was partly the reason - sure, since leaving Tatooine he'd seen greenery, but a garden wasn't the same thing. The palace had had gardens, and the wide-stretched, neatly arranged bushes, flowers and trees had been breathtaking. Even more so when it didn't _look_ arranged, but Breha had assured him that it all was.

So a memorial garden... well, of course he wanted to have a look, even if it wasn't the place where his mother was buried.

This time, he took the droids with him when he left the yacht. Then, in a fit of worry that he might miss a comm from Leia, walked back to the ship and picked up the holotransceiver as well before he left the spaceport for the city. 

Theed, like the whole of Naboo seemed to be, was pretty. It was a bit too far to walk from the spaceport to the memorial garden - impossible, too, since the spaceport proper was at the bottom of the cliffs Theed sat on - but Luke deliberately left the public airspeeder before they'd reached the gardens to walk the rest of the way.

The air was cool, though Luke wasn't sure what season it was supposed to be; the huge trees lining the wide street had long, drooping silvery leaves, slim and looking somewhat like needles, though the vines growing up the walls of the buildings he could see were in bright shades of red, orange and, in some cases, dark purple.

Maybe autumn (he thought that was the name for it), unless some of those vines simply grew in those colours...

"Master Luke? Artoo says the entrance to the gardens is right here," Threepio said, cutting through his thoughts. Blinking, he stopped and backtracked two steps to pause in front of an archway completely overgrown with vines that had leaves so dark they were shaded blue-black. There was no fence in the traditional sense; instead the garden seemed to be bordered by trees, the spaces between them filled out by low, red-and-orange leafed bushes that were covered in tiny starbursts of white flowers.

It would have been easy to step over them, if you really wanted to. Not that that was necessary, because the archway had no gate, and there were no guards. Luke still hesitated, even when he _knew_ this was just a garden and wasn't going to lead to the tomb. Artoo gently bumped up against his legs, chirping softly.

"All right." Though who he was addressing, Luke wasn't sure. He gave Artoo's dome a pat and then walked under the archway, the path beyond wide and gently curving. It was lined by shallow ditches filled with water, from which some strange, spindly flowers grew. 

The path split in three further in, where the shallow ditches turned into proper streams and meandered away from the paths through tiny waterfalls that had been built like little stairs and, presumably, ended up in the fountains he could see further away.

Luke knew that wasn't where he wanted to go, however. Not at the moment anyway, so instead he followed the main path and ended up standing on a marble dais, arches covered with flowered vines ringing it. The dais ended right at the edge of the cliff, and there was the roar of water from a waterfall that must be falling right below. It was louder and far larger than the fountain in the palace gardens in Aldera, but that's what Luke thought of anyway, listening to the noise.

The center of the dais held a pool of water, a blue-veined white... vase? rising out of it. A flame flickered on top, and there were bouquets of flowers and trinkets laid at the bases of the arches.

The only thing heard here, despite the relative closeness of the city, was the waterfall.

Closing his eyes and listening to the thunder of water, Luke suddenly wondered what he was _doing_ here. It was pretty and soothing, but this place... it had absolutely nothing to do with his mother. Maybe he should just have wandered Theed instead of going here. Here, he just felt... out of place and kind of... _lost_.

Not quite like the homesickness he'd felt on Polis Massa, but almost.

It took him a moment to realise the noise he was hearing wasn't Artoo, but rather the _transceiver_.

Yanking it out of his bag, Luke walked back to sit down on the stairs that led up to the platform, and ended up looking at Leia as he connected the comm. Not unexpected, since she _was_ the only one who could comm him at the moment. He smiled even as she squinted at him, then she nodded when she apparently saw something that pleased her.

"At least you managed to not get yourself hurt again. Hi, Luke," she said and finally smiled at him. He rolled his eyes and pretended not to notice that he didn't feel as alone, or lost, anymore. At least at the moment.

"Hi, Leia. I _can_ go a few days without getting hurt, you know."

"I'm not sure you can," Leia said, sniffing, "I think you were limping, had a bruise or two or a scrape every other day after General Kenobi showed up, and even more so after Master Tano did."

"I got better!" Luke protested, trying to scowl at her but unable to hold it; even more so when she started laughing. Something in his shoulders - at the back of his head - unwound at that noise and he laughed as well. Even talking to Leia during that comm on Polis Massa hadn't been the same... maybe because of what had been happening and because Pooja had been there.

"A little," she finally said, a glitter in her dark eyes that made her look as young as she actually was and he didn't mind that she was making fun of him. "I wish... I could do what you can, Luke."

Blinking at the sudden change in mood, if not topic, Luke leaned forward a little, trying to find something to say. It took a few moments before he found the words, because she looked so _wistful_ and something made him want to say that she _could_ do what he did, but that couldn't be right. He didn't know that, and if she could, shouldn't Ben and Ahsoka been training her too? Instead...

"If you did, you'd be way too powerful, Leia. You're already amazing." And then he promptly blushed, looking away from her startled expression. A second later and she was laughing again and he wasn't even annoyed that she was. The sound was warm and bright and _close_ , and again, it felt right. It made him feel _less_ ridiculous, not more, so he managed to look back and smile at her.

"Thank you," she said, shaking her head, "I like that thought. But I didn't comm _just_ to check up on you."

"So you _did_ comm to check up on me," he said, huffing mostly for show, and Leia just shrugged.

"Considering how you left Coruscant, I thought I better!" Leia smiled briefly and then leaned forward, looking more serious again, "Pooja didn't have the time to come over and talk to you herself, unfortunately, but she told me to tell you that she's arranged a meeting with your other cousin, Ryoo, and your aunt, Sola, tomorrow at noon. Outside the Amidala Memorial Gardens? Will you be able to get to Naboo in time and find the place, Luke?" Leia asked with a frown, and Luke barely managed to keep from smiling.

"Yeah, I _think so_. I'm actually in them right now."

Leia blinked, staring at him and he couldn't help himself; he burst out laughing. After a moment, she snorted and shook her head.

"I should've guessed," she said, and then paused, clearly hesitating before she continued, "if you want... comm me in a few days and tell me how it's going?"

Warmth settled somewhere in his chest and somewhere else that wasn't exactly in the back of his head, but also _not_ not in his head. Luke shrugged the sensation off.

"Sure."


	49. Naboo III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke, Ryoo and Sola meet in person for the first time, there's awkwardness and a DNA test.

He wished he could talk to Aunt Beru. 

He was about to actually meet some of this family he'd found out he had, in person, for the first time ever, and he really wished he could've had Aunt Beru with him. Which felt embarrassing; he was going to be eighteen in a few months, for stars' sake!

Artoo whistled, gently bumping into his leg, and Luke startled, then rested a hand on the dome. It wasn't the same as Aunt Beru or Uncle Owen, but he'd become really attached to the droids, so it was nice that he wasn't completely alone for this. He'd also brought all his stuff with him (what there was of it, since it all fit into his pack) on a whim, carrying the bag thrown over one shoulder.

"Master Luke, is there any reason we are simply standing here?" Threepio asked, sounding somewhere between concerned and his usual fussy, "if you would like me to perform introductions, I am fully equipped for such occasions!" And then he immediately sounded all too excited by this idea. Luke quickly shook his head, even if he was, momentarily, tempted.

"No, it's fine, Threepio. I just..." trailing off, Luke shifted on his feet, still hidden at the corner of the street that led along the gardens to the entrance and watched the two women who stood there. Letting out a breath, he shook his head. All right. "Okay. Let's go." 

He'd agreed to this, after all, and he _had_ sort of intended for this to happen, so backing out now wasn't really an option.

Squaring his shoulders, Luke walked around the corner, hearing the droids follow behind him - both because of the noise, and because Threepio, of course, simply _had_ to tell Artoo to 'come along now, Artoo'. Which provoked a sarcastic beep in response, and Luke bit his lip not to laugh, because even if he didn't understand the letter, he certainly picked up on the _meaning_ of it. 

"Well, I _never_! You overwrought greasestain, there is no need to be _rude_!" Threepio exclaimed and Luke gave up and chuckled, trying to muffle it behind a hand so the protocol droid wouldn't hear. Luckily, Threepio was clearly too busy with telling Artoo off to pick up on Luke's amusement. 

And then, as he came within a few meters of the two women, the amusement fled and there were bubbles of nervousness in the pit of his stomach. But he walked up to them and managed - he hoped - a smile.

"Hi. I'm... uh," Luke said and then immediately felt his face heat up. Frowning, he straightened up again, as he'd sort of hunched up a little. "Luke Skywalker. You're---" and then he wasn't sure _what_ to say, but he didn't need to, because the older woman, after hesitating for a moment, came close and laid a hand on his shoulder. He was a little taller than she was, but not by a whole lot.

"Sola Naberrie. Your aunt, if... if it's true," she said and then frowned, looking away as if she hadn't intended to say that. The younger woman still a step behind them snorted and strode up beside her mother - Luke was sure he knew who that was, so she'd be his aunt's daughter. His other cousin - and smiled.

"Which I'm sure it is. Ryoo," she said and shook her head, the simple ponytail swaying with the motion. For some reason that made him relax, and he smiled, much easier than before.

"It should be," he said with a shrug, feeling another flicker of anxiety, because what if it _wasn't_? What if Bail Organa had been wrong... before he pushed it away and nodded to the droids, "this is Threepio and Ar---"

" _Artoo_?" Ryoo finished for him, her exclamation bright with delight and she walked around him to kneel in front of the droid. Artoo twittered and wriggled from stabiliser to stabiliser and Luke remembered that Artoo had mentioned that he'd belonged to his mother before he'd ended up flying with his father. "Is this really R2-D2?" Ryoo said, looking between him and Artoo, who whistled sharply.

"Yeah, it is," Luke said with a smile and suddenly this didn't feel so bad. Especially not when Sola, who'd been blinking mutely at this exchange, suddenly laughed - it was a tremulous, almost brittle laughter, but the hand squeezing his shoulder was steady.

Unfortunately he felt somewhat awkward again half an hour later, sitting in Ryoo's cluttered kitchen with a five-month old baby in his lap and a five year old peering at him from across the table. She ducked underneath the edge when he met her gaze, but she smiled back with a gap-toothed grin when he smiled at her. 

It didn't unknot his stomach completely, but seeing Sola - Aunt Sola, maybe, but he wasn't sure if it'd be okay to think of her like that until she felt certain, until they _all_ felt certain, that he actually was related to them - smile at the exchange eased more of the tension away.

"All right. No, Vaneé, you can't have any cookies, Tané told me you've had your snack, so don't ask," Ryoo said as she came walking back in after seeing the babysitter off, a device in her hands. Vaneé pouted and Luke had to bite his lip not to grin, because that wouldn't be very nice. "Here, Mom. I think the results will be more decisive if you're the one who gives the sample," Ryoo said, handing over the device before she turned to Luke with a wink and picked up little Olis, who was muttering drowsily and immediately reached a hand out to grab his mother's ponytail when it was within reach.

Trying to sit still, Luke still found himself shifting a little in his seat, though the sudden brush of fingers against his knee had him look up into Sola's warm eyes, and then Ryoo squeezed his shoulder as well.

"We _all_ want it to be true, Luke," Sola said while she fiddled with the scanner, then stuck a finger into the correct slot.

"But considering there was apparently a _cover up_ , if it's true... everyone's a bit nervous and confused," Ryoo finished with a shrug, rubbing Olis' back and swaying slightly on her feet. 

Luke nodded, taking the analyser/scanner from Sola when she was done and rubbed his neck before he put his own finger inside. 

He understood that, really. 

He still couldn't quite believe it, especially now that he knew who his mother (supposedly) was. The bite of the needle was barely felt and he handed the device back to Sola right after it'd taken his blood sample. It just seemed like a better idea that she see the result first and that he, who was the one they weren't sure about, wasn't holding it when those results came.

They sat in silence for the next three minutes, and while Ryoo had denied her daughter cookies, she was given a small handful of dried fruit of some sort - something Ryoo offered him as well with another wink, and while he grimaced at her, mostly for Vaneé's sake, who giggled, he held his hand out.

The small, brownish-pink pieces tasted sharply sweet and crumbled on his tongue, but the crumbs themselves were chewy, and the sunlight through the window was warm. The brightly pink-and-red leaves on the vines outside turned the light soft and almost as sweet as the dried fruit tasted, casting coloured shadows on the dark table.

Sola's hands suddenly tightened on the scanner, right as it made a quiet beep, and Luke froze, looking up at her from where he'd been staring at the shifting colours on the table. The nervous bubbles in his stomach were back.

"Oh, _Padmé_ \---" her voice broke, and then she laughed, handing the scanner over to Ryoo without looking as she rose from her seat and Luke found himself with her arms around him, holding tight. Reflexively, he brought his own arms up and hugged her back, letting them drop when Sola shifted back to stroke his hair away from his face and cradle it for a moment. There were unshed tears in her eyes.

"You've got her nose," she finally said, and Luke grinned, ducking his head. He'd thought so as well, from the holos he'd seen, but it was nice to have someone else who'd known her, was _related_ to her, tell him that.

"And Anakin's chin," Ryoo chimed in, and Luke's smile widened. Then Vaneé slapped her hands to the tabletop and scowled.

"What do _I_ got?!"

Luke looked down at her, Ryoo and Sola did as well, and then all three of them burst out laughing. Vaneé frowned mightily at them and stuffed more dried fruit in her mouth.

"So... uh, what happens now?" Luke glanced between his aunt (another one!) and his cousin after the laughter had died down, well-aware that this had only been the first step. Probably even the easiest one, too.

"We could go up to the village today and have the evening meal there, or we wait until tomorrow, have breakfast here and then leave," Sola said, looking at once more collected than before and far more vulnerable. Ryoo squeezed her mother's shoulders when she passed her to scoop Vaneé up, carrying her out of the kitchen under one arm to the little girl's giggle-filled and very loud protests.

"If Ryoo doesn't mind, tomorrow, maybe?" Luke asked, feeling vaguely like a coward and like he was procrastinating, but at the same time the idea to meet more members of his new found family today was a bit exhausting. Aunt Sola merely nodded though, looking faintly relieved herself.

"I'll go make a comm and then we'll see about food."

That seemed like a very good idea to Luke.


	50. Naboo IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightsister Talzin has a plan and sets it in motion.

The next morning Ryoo and Vaneé waved goodbye to Luke and Sola, and Luke was very pleased with having convinced his aunt to let him fly the airspeeder she'd used to travel to Theed to. It was a family unit, so Threepio and Artoo didn't need to be strapped or awkwardly squeezed in somewhere, like they'd have to be if this had been Luke's own landspeeder back on Tatooine.

While that airspeeder made its way out of Theed, a small freighter-class ship came out of lightspeed and passed the Imperial control with little issue, and continued on straight to Theed.

Talzin knew this was a gamble, but she was rather sure that if her target _was_ on Naboo, she'd have the time to use a day to see if he'd landed in Theed or was elsewhere already - if he was, she would have to start digging in records to find the current residences of a few particular individuals. That would take longer, for even if addresses and residences normally wasn't protected information, for this family it most certainly _was_.

Understandable why, but it wouldn't make Talzin's job any easier.

For now, however, she zipped up the jumpsuit, patted her now-blond hair, and made sure none of the paler skin beneath the parts she'd darkened was easily visible. Her similarities to the boy in the holo she had - the only visual she had of her target - was practically none, even with the adjustments. But with a sympathetic enough expression and entreaty, most would only look at the superficial similarities she'd created and think no further.

Making a few, practice expressions to the mirror in the refresher, just to make sure none of her chosen expressions would look _too_ off, Talzin flashed a grin and tucked the holo in a pocket. She had a feeling she'd end up having to take the long way via slicing into the protected planetary residential records at the end of this, but confirming her target actually had landed here and hadn't left yet would ensure she wouldn't waste time and effort on said slicing if he _hadn't_.

She didn't quite believe her luck when the woman at the information desk frowned at the holo with a distinct expression of reckognition, only an hour into asking around the spaceport proper.

"Your brother, you said?" she looked up from the holo, the frown taking on a more thoughtful look. Talzin nodded, exaggerating the motion a little.

"He's always running off on something or other, and he's recently developed an interest in the late Senator of Naboo. Dad's very worried," Talzin said, leaning forward a little and squeezing the edge of the curved desk. It was very, very difficult not to smirk when she mentioned 'dad'; not because she found anything particularly amusing in the fact that she was trying to catch Lord Vader's son, but rather that she was using the truth as part of a fake cover.

She was absolutely certain Mother wasn't supposed to have told her who her target was in relation to her contractor, but Mother had done it and with great relish as well. She really didn't like Lord Vader, though why, Talzin had never figured out. While Vader had been there on Dathomir fifteen years ago, it was the Emperor who had committed the real crime.

Darth Vader, she remembered, had merely been a silent, looming shadow at the Emperor's side.

"He wanted to go to her grave," the woman said, shaking her head with a small smile and drawing Talzin out of her thoughts, "I pointed him towards the memorial gardens, instead. Haven't seen him this morning, however." She pursed her lips in thought, and Talzin smiled widely.

"Thank you so much! Even if he decided to get lodging somewhere else for the rest of the stay, hopefully I'll be able to find him _before_ Dad gets upset enough he grounds him for a few years in his absence," Talzin said brightly and dipped her head in a quick bow, and quickly walked off, turning around and waving in thanks as the woman wished her luck.

Luck for her, maybe, but she would rather more take _no luck_ for her target. He might not be trained, or if so, only a little, but by the warnings she had been given he would be strong in the Force and thus a tricky opponent either way. Not that _she_ was without tricks herself, but one didn't succeed by not giving pertinent facts their due consideration.


	51. Naboo V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While staying with his grandparents and Aunt Sola, Luke gets the chance to go to Varykino.

Staring up at a white-washed ceiling decorated with subtle swirls, Luke was still having trouble believing the last few days had been happening. He couldn't claim he was, yet, exactly comfortable in this house and with the people here, but it was getting closer. The most awkward thing was the way especially his grandparents ( _grandparents_ , two living ones when all he'd had earlier were two graves and names) would sometimes just pause and _stare_.

It wasn't so bad, though, and he liked his aunt and uncle - and his grandparents too, but he wasn't sure what they were seeing when they stopped and just... looked. 

Rolling out of the bed with a reluctant grunt, because it was obvious he wouldn't be getting any more sleep, Luke walked over to the window and peered out. The little garden outside was rimmed in frost and dusted with a thin layer of snow. Both of which were still fascinating to Luke, because the academy on Arkanis had been south enough it had never really become cold enough for frost or snow, only a lot of rain, and while there'd been frost in Aldera, certainly, it hadn't yet begun snowing before he left.

The sunlight caught in the frozen water, sending sparkling glitters across the garden, and Luke found himself smiling, then actually went to get dressed. It was a good thing one of the sets of clothing he'd brought from Alderaan had been made for colder weather, because it was sure needed now.

Slinking down the stairs and towards the kitchen with a mind to fix something for himself since it was still early enough he doubted anyone else was still awake, he was startled enough to see the kitchen wasn't empty. So when he walked in it was to Sola looking up from the table and smiling at him.

"You're up early. I haven't been able to get Darred to wake up yet. Help yourself," she said and waved at the table where there were, indeed, things laid out. Luke shrugged as he sat down and started to pick at things without any of the hesitation he'd felt the first few days about what to take, what it _was_ and... well, a lot of things.

Being in someone else's house was pretty awkward, and the only reason it'd been a little different in Aldera was because everything was served without having to go poking in cabinets or cold storage, and Leia had helped him when he didn't know what anything was.

"I'm pretty used to getting up early," Luke said with a shrug, swallowing down the thought of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru with the pieces of fruit he was eating. Much easier was to mentally add that he'd been getting up early his whole life, it seemed, since at the academy it'd been the same thing, and only on Alderaan and now could things even _be_ at all different.

"I suppose that's how farming works," Sola said with a nod, and Luke nodded, almost burying himself in the food again.

"And at the Academy, too," he muttered, avoiding his aunt's curious gaze. But when she opened her mouth and said something, it wasn't about the Academy or even more about his past on Tatooine or what he'd been doing before ending up here, even if he certainly rather expected more probing about his rather lackluster abbreviated story of leaving the Academy and ending up on Alderaan.

"Would you like to go see the house your... mother and father stayed at for a while?"

Looking up, Luke blinked and completely skimmed over the awkward but somewhat stunned tone 'mother and father' got. Especially whenever any of the Naberries had to mention Padmé as being his mother, they always hesitated but seemed at the same time to be delighted to be able to name her as such.

"It's close?" Because _of course_ he wanted to go. His grandparents had shown him things they'd saved from his mother's childhood, tucked away in the house's cellar, but that wasn't nearly enough.

"It'll take a few hours, but since we're up early and I think Darred will be getting up soon as well, what do you say?" Sola said with a smile, and there was _no way_ Luke was going to decline. He was already up, after all.

Two hours later, in a speeder with his aunt and uncle and with his grandparents staying behind - which Threepio did as well, citing that it would get 'awfully cramped in that speeder, Master Luke, I better stay behind. Artoo should go with you.'. Luke spent most of the trip watching the snow-dusted landscape glittering in the sunlight and with a fine layer of ice at the edges of the lakes and rivers that they passed.

Hours later, with an additional stop for a short lunch, the airspeeder was set gently down on grass covered mostly in frost; in the shadows under trees and next to the walls of the building, a thin dusting of snow could be found. Staring at the gently arching, curved and domed building, there were was one thought dominating; this was the building Artoo had him fly over when they came to Naboo. The one he'd wanted to land at.

He didn't bother questioning the _chances_ of that, now that he knew his parents had spent some time here. But he also, once again, felt rather out of place.

At least both Ryoo's house and the house in the village weren't quite this... grand, on a similar scale to the palace in Aldera. It also strongly reminded him that his mother had been both Queen and Senator of Naboo, and while he wasn't sure what his father would've been used to as a Jedi Knight, at least they both came from the same place.

Not that that was much of a recommendation for Tatooine.

"All right there, Luke?" Darred said, a hand on his shoulder, and Luke twitched in surprise and then flashed a grin.

"Yeah, thanks. Come on, Artoo, let's get you out..."

Fighting to get Artoo out of the speeder without turning the little astromech end over end, and accompanied by annoyed beeping, was at least enough of a distraction Luke didn't feel quite as lost when they finally crossed the crunching grass and walked up on the verandah and inside.

Not that it told him much, really; it was beautiful, in a similar but yet different way to the palace in Aldera, but it didn't exactly seem like a _home_. Didn't feel like one, though that feeling made sense when Sola said it was mostly used for shorter visits, in addition to his parents hiding here for a short while while his father had been Padmé's bodyguard.

That was interesting to hear about, at least, though Sola didn't know too much about it.

"They left Naboo without telling anyone, and were back some days later. Ryoo and Pooja were both delighted," Sola said, a smile twisting her mouth and her dark eyes glittering in amusement, "they were really taken by your father, you know, and if they'd been older your mother might've had competition."

Luke bit his lip and _tried_ not to laugh, really he did, but he lost the battle and smothered it behind a hand. His aunt laughed as well, a soft little noise that he caught her husband smiling about in the corner of his vision, where he stood leaning against the fireplace.

"They didn't stay very long, but I know they went back here for a few days at least, after checking in with us..." Sola's expression turned thoughtful, and she shook her head, "she seemed changed, when she left with him for Coruscant after that. For the better, I think. She really..." she trailed off, the soft expression turning _lost_ in a way Luke just knew he could do nothing about, and as Darred sat down beside her, he got up, smiled at them, and left the room.

He wished he could help, but... he knew less of what'd happened around then than _they_ did.

A whistle down a corridor and out a door had Luke pulling his robe (borrowed, he hadn't actually brought any of the cold-weather outergear he'd been given by the Organas) closer around himself.

"Artoo? What're you doing out here? How'd you even get the door open?"

Artoo's answering twittering was smug, but explained nothing - Luke didn't need to know binary to be able to tell _that_. The verandah they were on faced out towards the lake, offering a stunning view of the partially iced-over lake and the mostly-bare trees wreathed in silver from the frost.

Artoo whistled sharply, startling Luke out of his staring at the view, causing him to shift his gaze down to the astromech, who'd moved off to the side, close to the railing that ended the verandah. Blinking, Luke started to walk over and then froze at the protesting flurry of chirps and beeps.

"All right, all right, I'll stay over here. What do you even---"

The blue from Artoo's holoprojector was partially washed out and made pale by both the sunlight and the frost and snow, but the image was clear enough anyway. Taking a step closer before he squatted down, Luke's breath caught in his throat.

The two people the holo focused on were, by now, more than familiar to him, and his father's Jedi robes easily recognisable. His mother's dress - white, he was pretty sure, despite the blue tinge and the bright refracting from the sunlight on frost and snow, was pretty but didn't tell him much.

It didn't really need to.

The way they held each other's hands, standing in front of an older man, gave Luke an inkling of what was going on. He barely dared to glance away from the holo, warmth creeping up along his limbs.

"Is this..?"

Artoo twittered softly, confirmation he didn't really need but he'd _wanted_ , and when Luke put a steadying hand on the frosted-over flagstones for balance, a single, foreign emotion shot through him from decades earlier, perfectly joined with the holo Artoo was projecting; awed happiness.


	52. Naboo VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke gets a traditional gift from his grandmother.

"Luke?"

Looking up from where he'd been bent over the holoprojector showing holos of his mother and Sola from their childhood that his grandfather was holding, he blinked up at his aunt and his grandmother in the doorway into the living room.

"Huh? Something happened? You okay?" The questions came out before he could consider it, but even their startled looks only made it clear that at least his grandmother was nervous about something, and he was actually picking up on it. Aunt Sola was... just contained, though she was resting an encouraging hand on her mother's shoulder.

"We're fine, Luke, nothing has happened," Sola said, tilting her head and shooting him a look that made him clear his throat and try not to squirm. His grandfather chuckled and turned off the holodevice.

"Would you like some copies, Luke?" he said quietly, the smile half-hidden by the wrinkles when Luke looked over, and he nodded quickly.

"Absolutely! Thank you," Luke said, feeling unaccountably relieved he hadn't had to _ask_ ; he still didn't know how, sometimes, and he'd already been here almost three weeks now. Ruwee patted his shoulder and stood up, leaving the living room with the holodevice, pausing in the doorway to kiss Jobal on the cheek and give her a clearly encouraging smile.

Luke wondered what was going on, because clearly _something_ was; looking between his grandmother and his aunt, Sola finally met his confusion with a tiny smile and came inside.

"I talked with Ryoo just now; she said she managed to arrange for the... the tomb to be opened for a family visit," she paused to eye him, her dark eyes darkening further, "if you still wish to go."

Heart thudding in his ears, Luke nodded. It was just a grave - a tomb - there would be nothing there, he knew that. Not even, as Aunt Sola had pointed out, a body, since the Naboo cremated their dead. But his mothers ashes _were_ interred there and... yes, he still wanted to go. It'd be the closest he'd ever be able to be to her, physically anyway.

"That's not the only thing, though, right?" Luke asked, narrowing his eyes and glancing between his aunt and grandmother again. This time it was Jobal who smiled a little, looking tired and her anxiety still twisting through the Force, but she stepped inside and came around the couch with her daughter at her side, and they each sat down. Sola in a wingchair, Jobal beside Luke, where Ruwee had been sitting earlier.

"No. I would..." his grandmother paused, worrying at a wrapped package she had put in her lap. Luke was instantly curious but tried to keep his gaze on his grandmother, not the package. It was pretty difficult, though.

"This," she finally said, gesturing at the package in her lap, "is a gift normally given to Naboo children when they turn five, but I hope you wouldn't mind either way, Luke," Jobal said, her smile small and tight as she handed the package over.

Looking down at the... present? was that what it was? he supposed so, Luke felt shy about opening it, but he could _feel_ the anxious anticipation, mostly from his grandmother but also from his aunt and... he wasn't going to say _no_. Whatever it was, it was soft, wrapped in blue cloth which actually had little buttons cleverly arranged to keep the whole thing closed. 

Unbuttoning the thing with more care than he felt, Luke pulled the cloth open and ended up looking at... more cloth. After a moment of confusion, he realised it was probably clothes of some kind and grabbed it, shaking the thing out - and it fell away from his hands, spilling over his lap and down his legs to pool on the floor, so dark green it was nearly black.

A cloak.

Thumbs stroking the material, soft and thick and Luke couldn't help thinking that it'd probably be pretty nice while you were in space, he noticed a flash of colour half hidden by the hood. Flipping the hood out of the way, Luke ended up looking at the front of the cloak on each side to where it'd probably be closed with a pin or something. On one side there were two suns embroidered into the cloth, the pale yellow standing out like stars in the night, and on the other side was a stylised... flower? maybe? in purplish-blue that was still bright against the cloth, despite that it was darker than the embroidered suns.

He could figure out, from the context, what the embroidery was supposed to symbolise, and swallowed down a lump.

"... thank you." He sort of felt like he should say something else, something _more_ , but his grandmother smiled and her shoulders relaxed, so maybe that was good enough.

"Put it on, let's see how it looks," Sola said, gesturing at him with a smile, and while Luke felt that squirming shyness again, he stood up and threw the cloak over his shoulders, then pulled the hood up.

"Um, so..?" Turning around, he caught a faint reflection of himself in the glass doors that led out into the garden, frosted over by the weather. The wide hood hid his face almost completely, and the cloak was comfortably heavy over his shoulders.

"I think P--- your mother would've been very happy to see you in it," Sola said quietly, and Luke paused, staring out the glass to the snowy garden outside. Thought of Varykino and the spike of foreign happiness - his father's, he was pretty sure - thought of Polis Massa and Mustafar, as Artoo had, reluctantly a week ago, revealed that his mother had been there shortly before she died.

Had _given birth_ on Polis Massa, and hadn't _that_ been a surprise - and then he realised he shouldn't have been surprised, not with that... vision, he'd had. Luke had felt pretty foolish, after that.

Shaking that off, he turned back around and shrugged out of the cloak, catching it over an arm and giving his aunt and grandmother a determined smile.

"Great! Thank you," he turned to his grandmother, head cocked, "you made this, didn't you? It's really beautiful."

He was used to home-made clothing - some of his had been, especially when he was younger and grew too fast for the credits to stretch - but not with this quality of cloth, and the style of sewing was obviously different. His grandmother _blushed_ and looked away with a little smile.


	53. Naboo VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke gets something of his mother's from Ryoo, before they go visit the grave.

It was strange, Luke thought, that it'd been so very hard to say goodbye before Sola had taken him down to Theed again. Strange, because he hadn't even made any plans yet to actually leave Naboo, and had half a thought - despite all the awkwardness - to ask if he could go back at least for a few more days after this visit. 

But even that thought was clouded in a sense of... not anxiety, no. More like---

"Want to put down those bags and have some lunch before we go?" Ryoo said, interrupting his thoughts, and Luke looked reflexively down at the two bags he was holding now. He'd had to add a second after the clothes his aunt and grandparents had insisted on giving him, which included more than just the cloak, which he was currently wearing.

"Sounds like an idea," Luke said with a smile he for some reason wasn't really feeling, but he supposed that was because of what they would be doing this afternoon. Ryoo didn't look particularly bright either, and felt even more subdued than she looked through the Force. Walking inside, Luke paused at the door to keep it open and make sure the droids came inside okay - mostly Artoo, who had to struggle up the steps to the door.

Smiling down at the little astromech when he finally got to the top of the stairs with a huffy chirp, Luke straightened up and frowned out towards the street, barely visible behind the vine-covered wall. There was... something? No, he'd probably just seen a few speeders and pedestrians passing by. 

Shaking his head, Luke let the door close behind him and went to the same room he'd borrowed when he first met his cousin and aunt, dropping the bags on the floor by the bed and wandered down to the kitchen. Ryoo was standing by the counter, half-dancing around with Olis on one arm, and Luke stopped in the doorway, smiling at the scene. Wondered if, if things hadn't gone... as and however they'd gone, his mother (or father) would've done the same... 

"Did you want some help?" Luke asked to push away that thought, and Ryoo whirled around with a spoon in one hand and the baby in the other, staring for a brief, startled moment before she chuckled.

"You're so _quiet_. No, I'll be fine. Sit down," she nodded towards the table and Luke, reluctantly, did as told; he couldn't even help with bringing out the plates and things, as they were already on the table. Fidgeting with the fork, Luke frowned as he listened to Ryoo's quiet humming and the noises Olis made until he dropped off, asleep.

"So... um, what do you do?" Luke said quietly, hoping not to wake Olis up, but he didn't so much as stir when Ryoo came over to the table and put one container down, then returned for another trip and put another on the table.

"I paint," she said with a smile, then held up a finger and disappeared for a few minutes, coming back without Olis, "which, while it gives me a lot of freedom to set my own schedule, means I need to be strict with myself." The flash of a smile she aimed at him made Luke smile; apparently that was something she could lapse in. Another few minutes passed and Luke knew he probably shouldn't ask, but...

"Any reason you're living here and the others up in the village?" pausing to glance up at her, watching Ryoo's expression still, Luke forged on, "I mean, I guess there might be more... um, buyers here? But I heard some things---" and then he couldn't continue because he felt kind of bad for having listened to those things, though some of them had been comments dropped into conversation he'd been there for and simply not understood. And it was, somehow, easier to ask Ryoo about it than his grandparents or even his aunt.

Ryoo sighed, put down her fork and leaned her elbows on the table, lacing her hands together to rest her chin on them and arched an eyebrow.

"While the bit about clientele is true and makes it easier for me, most of anyone who'd have been worth working with or for would've worked with me if I'd been living up there," Ryoo said, then snorted sharply, "no, this isn't about my work, Luke. Grandma and grandpa just doesn't exactly approve of the fact that I didn't marry to have someone to take care of the children while I worked. _Anyone_ , even if it hadn't been either of their fathers."

"Oh," Luke blinked and nodded, ducking his head and feeling awkward. He was so used to families not being a perfect unit, even if at least half of his friend group had larger families, that he didn't think there might be _opinions_ about marrying or not, especially when children were involved. "Sorry I---"

"Never mind, Luke. It's fine," Ryoo waved it off, then stopped and just... looked at him, frowning. Luke stared back, wondering what she was seeing, or thinking about. Then she suddenly got up and left the kitchen, coming back after a few minutes, something clutched in one firmly balled up fist. 

"I... have something for you. I think you should have it." Ryoo's smile was sharp and pale and, strangely, full of guilt, which he didn't understand at all. He understood even less when she took one of his hands and dropped a necklace onto his palm, the chain thin and fine, but heavier than the actual piece of jewellery which---

"This is a piece of japor!" Luke abruptly lowered his voice part-way through, remembering Olis sleeping somewhere in the house and took a closer look at the carved wood. "And... those are..." he recognised the symbols that had been carved into the wood. Looking up at his cousin, Ryoo nodded, still sporting that curiously pale and guilty expression.

"Aunt Padmé had that during the funeral procession. I guess your father must've made it for her. I---" cutting herself off, Ryoo crossed the kitchen restlessly and stopped behind her chair, clutching the back. She gave him another thin, brittle smile. "I was upset and, I guess, angry. I don't know. It also seemed like a waste that it'd be destroyed, even if I'm pretty sure Aunt Padmé should've had it with her... I snatched it when we got to pass by the bier, I don't think anyone noticed."

Another pale, dim smile and Ryoo sat down again, rubbing her face.

"I wore it for a little while after that, then put it away. I could never get rid of it... or put it back in her tomb, with the ashes. I remembered I had it a few days after you went with Mom and I..." pausing, she looked up at him, hands covering her mouth and elbows heavy on the table, "you could always lay it by the ashes, but I think Aunt Padmé would've wanted you to have it, now that you have the chance to."

Looking slowly down from his cousin to the necklace in his hands, Luke rubbed a thumb over the Japor snippet, feeling along the grooves of the carved symbols in it. 

His mother probably would've wanted it.

On the other hand... closing his fist around it, feeling the shape of it dig into his palm, Luke bit his lip. On the other hand... maybe it was terrible, but... slowly, he opened his fist again and picked the necklace up by the chain, and dropped it over his head. Tucking it underneath the tunic, it fell, light and nearly unnoticeable, against his skin.

It felt right.


	54. Naboo VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talzin plans for her kidnapping attempt.

Watching the woman hand over her son to the babysitter, Talzin laced her hands together, rested her chin on them, and hummed thoughtfully as her target and his... cousin, right, left in the landspeeder. She knew where they were going, of course - she'd known since overhearing the woman talk to her sister, which was how she'd gotten a more direct hint of where the target was while the slicer continued to run through the residential records after finding out about this cousin.

She could follow them, of course, and take the boy in the tomb, maybe.

On the other hand, that was a bit too public, and in the middle of the afternoon. Not an ideal place to stage a kidnapping.

Gaze leaving the disappearing landspeeder, Talzin looked over the house as the babysitter left with the little boy for her own house next to the cousin's.

The house which was now empty, since the five year old daughter was at whatever they called their care for young children on this planet. Talzin smiled, sharp and pleased, and slid off the wall she'd been perched on, grabbing a branch to swing herself down to the pavement. She'd already been inside the house, listening to that comm the other day. 

Now she'd go in and familiarise herself a little more with the place, because a private house was a far better location to catch her target in. No surveillance inside, for one, and both he and his cousin would be relaxed.


	55. Naboo IX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryoo and Luke visit Padmé's tomb.

They walked through the royal gardens and Luke couldn't quite believe this was the _second_ royal palace he'd been to in his life, only weeks between each visit. They were shown the way by a woman Luke was pretty sure was actually a guard, but she carried no visible weapon, only a certain tenseness to her gait and awareness in her gaze that would suggest it.

The tomb was in a corner of the gardens, between a gallery that ran along the length of the palace on this side and the cliffs, ringed by more of those arrow-shaped silver-leafed trees and set out on a shallow lake. Large, perfectly flat and round stones let them walk from the shore of the ice-ringed lake to the island where an elegant, green-domed building carved with vines sat in the middle of it.

The woman did something at a subtly tucked away control panel and the doors swept aside. She nodded at them and settled into an easy - and recognisable - parade rest while Ryoo led the way inside.

Stairs actually led them _underground_ , and Luke peered back up at the top where the slice of pale early winter light could still be seen falling through the open doorway, feeling dubious about this... but he also wouldn't turn around. Not after having gotten this far. It was just a bit unsettling with the awareness that there was water around and above them, beyond the stone and rock of the stairwell and island itself.

Globes set into the wall turned the stairwell buttery with their light and their steps echoed rather strangely, but it wasn't very far to walk.

"Here we are," Ryoo said quietly, turning a smile on him as he came up beside her at the bottom of the stairs, "go on."

Taking a breath, unsure why he felt so _tense_ , Luke nodded and walked further into the round room, which was far less dreary than he'd assumed it would be, but despite that it held a slightly chillingly ethereal quality to it. 

Perhaps it was the light. Pillars half-carved out of the stone were set between stained glass windows of abstract patterns in blue and gold, lit from behind. They cast patterns on the floor and edged everything in simultaneously warm and cold highlights.

Opposite of the stairs, on the other side of the large vase in the middle of the room, there was another stained glass window, but this one was of the former Queen and Senator herself, with a soft expression and quirky little half-smile on her face that made her look knowing - a smile that didn't really fit his mother at all, from the holos Luke had seen and what people had told him.

Walking up to the large vase - white and blue-veined, a copy of the one in the memorial gardens, but this one would contain his mother's ashes, compared to the other one - Luke slowly reached out and laid a hand on it. It was smooth and cool, reminding him of the way the silk of one of Leia's dresses had felt.

The room should've felt calm, and it _did_ , but underneath the serenity lay a tight thrum of... enraged pain and sorrow and _regret_ \---

Luke snatched his hand off the vase and shook his head, breath catching in his throat. The hand on his shoulder made him jump; he'd completely forgotten Ryoo was in here with him.

"Luke? Are you all right?" She squeezed his shoulder, looking down at him with confused worry darkening her eyes.

"Y-yeah. I'm... fine. It's nothing." Shrugging, he gave his cousin a smile and tried to ignore the underlying sensation and concentrate on the room itself and the vase and...

His mother was _dead_.

He knew this; he'd known it his whole life and the only thing this changed was that she now had a name and a location for her remains. 

Nothing else. 

But his heart felt like it was being squeezed and the tense thrum that seemed to vibrate right underneath the stones and the stillness surged with it, echoing with its own, far more furious angle to the sadness.

"How did she die?" Luke didn't look up at Ryoo as he spoke, rather stared at the vase, reached out again to touch it - this time prepared and even taking some solace in the sympathetic if more livid feelings he could feel echoing in the Force - and trailed his fingers over a blue vein that arched like lightning across the creamy white.

"We don't know," Ryoo said, voice barely more than a murmur and sliding her hand from his shoulder to curl it around both of his shoulders instead, giving him a light, one-armed hug, "post-mortem scans before the funeral were inconclusive. It could've been complications with the birth, now that we know she died after you were born, not _with_ you, or something could've happened before that. Palpatine---" Ryoo choked off, teeth gritted and Luke looked up, feeling like something dark had settled in the softly-lit, pain-edged serenity.

"The Emperor?"

She nodded, staring at the vase herself, a strange little halo around the simple-looking bun her hair was piled in on top of her head from the light in the room.

"Before he became Emperor... We didn't hear much, I suppose she never did want to worry us, but we knew _some_ of what she was doing in the Senate and especially towards the end she became more and more critical of how things were done. I don't think... he would have wanted her around after he. Well." Ryoo had barely breathed the words out, and she didn't finish, but Luke could finish that himself; after he became Emperor.

The Force wiggled around him in an awkward twist he didn't understand, and that darkness pressed down, then was chased away by the pulse of the Force throbbing along with the angered regret baked into the stones.

Nodding, Luke shook himself.

"Let's get out of here," he said, and Ryoo's smile was as relieved as he felt.


	56. Naboo X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Leia have a talk late after the visit to Padmé's tomb, and while Leia starts having doubts about keeping the adults out of the loop, Luke starts having some doubt about staying on Naboo.

Considering he'd spent the rest of the day and part of the evening debating whether he should comm Leia, it was a surprise when the holotransceiver chimed nearing midnight, but it took off the weight that had been lingering since he and Ryoo left the tomb.

"Hey, Leia. I was thinking of comming you," he said with a smile as he settled on the bed, putting the transceiver down on the cover in front of him. 

"Funny thing, I _wasn't_ thinking about comming you today, but then the idea just wouldn't leave so I thought I better, otherwise I wouldn't be able to concentrate on dinner or my work," she huffed a little and shook her head, but wasn't really annoyed, Luke could tell.

"Do you _ever_ relax, even when you're sleeping?" he asked teasingly, leaning forward a little and pulling out the Japor snippet and playing with it without really thinking about it.

"No. I've got too many things to do for _that_ ," Leia said, then shook her head, "you _know_ I do. Where are you know? Doesn't look like the room you got at your aunt and grandparents'." Leia's expression quickly sharpened and she narrowed her eyes, looking him over with, Luke thought, far more suspicion than was necessary.

"I'm at my cousin's, in Theed? She got me a chance to..." he trailed off, images of the afternoon's visit to the tomb flashing through his head and the strange underlying feelings he'd picked up. It was a tomb, though, and people had visited it before - he probably should've expected to be picking up feelings like that, but _still_. He shook his head and focused back on Leia, giving her a smile. "I got to visit my mother's tomb, Leia."

Feeling welled up, clogged up his throat and weighed down his heart, and he didn't even know what they were - it was a heavy weight of something that was probably a few things in one. Loss, maybe, an sadness and a wish for things he couldn't ever have.

"Oh, Luke," Leia's expression softened and she leaned forward a little, briefly giving him a little twist of a smile, "I'm glad you got the chance to do that. How are you feeling?"

He shrugged at first, unsure how to explain, well, anything of what he'd been feeling since walking down the stairs into the tomb. Tugging on the necklace absently, the chain digging into his neck, Luke frowned at the covers; green and blue and embroidered with white vines and flowers.

"I don't know. I mean, I wanted to do this... and I don't regret it, but... I don't know." Too many things, and maybe, it felt like, not enough of them, for finally having gotten here and done this. It was a bit confusing.

"Give it a few days, and comm me if you feel like you need to, all right? I can listen, if nothing else," Leia said, then paused and frowned, and Luke suddenly had the very distinct thought that he wouldn't like what she'd say next, "or... you could try and get in contact with General Kenobi or Master Tano. They could probab---"

"No!" A bit startled himself at his vehemence, Luke let out a breath and shook his head and tried to smile at Leia. He was pretty sure he failed rather spectacularly when her frown turned fiercer. "Look, I _can't_ , okay? It just... wouldn't be a good idea. They'd figure out where I am and come get me and..."

"And why is that _bad_ , Luke? I still don't understand why you left. General Kenobi and Master Tano are probably better equipped to help you than you are running around alone with two droids! Even if Artoo's really dependable," she added after her outburst, catching Luke's frown.

"Leia... just... please believe me, it's better this way. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Like _you've_ been?" she snapped, a whip-crack of reproach in her voice that was clear even through the transmission and the slight blue cast over her real colours, "you got injured on Coruscant only half a day after leaving Alderaan, and you said it yourself; someone who noticed you were Force-sensitive came after you! General Kenobi and Master Tano are both more than equipped to help you." She was warming up to this now, Luke could tell, but that in turn only screwed up his own anxiety over the whole thing.

What if she told them? 

Maybe he couldn't - shouldn't - go back to his aunt, uncle and grandparents after this, not if Leia would end up telling either Ben or Ahsoka... He set that thought aside for now.

"But I'm _fine_ now. It was fine, Artoo got me to a medical facility and no one's looking for me," Luke said, but even as he said it something turned, cold and fish-like (he'd discovered he didn't much like seafood since leaving Tatooine), in his stomach. 

Leia had the _strangest_ expression flash over her face as well, but Luke forged on, deciding only that apparently he _couldn't_ stay here on Naboo any longer. 

"So I'll just be a bit more careful from now on and _not_ go into the Core or Coruscant. It'll be fine Leia. Trust me."

She stared at him for several long, quiet moments, eyes narrowed.

"Be careful, Luke, and take care of yourself."

"I will. Don't worry, Leia, it'll be all right," he said and summoned a grin for her, but even as she smiled back - hesitant and still frowning - Luke knew he hadn't managed to convince her. For some reason he hadn't managed to convince himself either, and after terminating the transmission, Luke stared at the dark holotransceiver silently.

Something turned, huge and tense, through the Force and he jumped off his bed and packed everything he could, resolving, even if he didn't really want to, to leave in the morning.


	57. Naboo XI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Talzin meet, and Vaneé gets into the middle of it. Luke makes a decision which will dictate what happens after this.

It was probably the anxiety about having to leave and his and Leia's conversation that woke him up a few hours later, Luke thought.

Staring up at the white-washed ceiling above, Luke turned over to try and go back to sleep - it was barely three and he needed more sleep. But something whispered through him, like when he'd been standing in the training room with his lightsaber at the ready, opaque visor over his eyes and just _knew_ where the remote would be firing.

Luke rolled out of bed and pulled his pants on, creeping up to the door and carefully opening it, peering out into the darkened corridor outside.

Nothing.

And yet...

Frowning, he stepped out of his room, burrowing bare feet into the thick carpet and wriggling his toes into it as he closed his eyes and took a breath.

It took a few moments to calm enough to draw on the Force, but after that it was easy; in the next room over on his side of the corridor Vaneé slept in her room, her little light calm and even - opposite that, Ryoo and Olis, the baby's presence in the Force almost swallowed by his mother's. That was as it should be, all three of them asleep, and Luke stretched his awareness further, caught more of the life-light presences in the Force as he left the immediate surroundings.

In fact, one was stronger, closer, than---

Luke snapped his eyes open and tossed himself sideways, thumping into the wall beside the still-open door to his room, and stared at the shadow in the corridor with him. Sight having adjusted to the darkness, they - she, it was a she - was clad in black, grey and red, a mask covering the lower part of her face and a hood tight around her head, hiding whatever hair she might have and leaving only pale flashes from her eyes and a pale strip of skin visible.

"Wha---"

She lunged at him and Luke twisted away more on instinct than thought-out reaction, felt something _almost_ brush against his arm before she twisted around and drove into him shoulder-first, sending them to the floor. Breath smacked out of him, Luke kicked and rolled, barely avoiding trapping himself against the wall.

The door to Vaneé's room opened as they both got to their feet, and he saw the slight flicker of the intruder's eyes sideways, to the tousled brown head peeking out.

"Wha's goin' on? Luke?" she mumbled, clutching a shaak plush in one hand and Luke felt his stomach drop out of him as the woman lunged.

"Get back, Vaneé!"

She shrieked and he leapt as well, but while he caught a foot and _yanked_ as he fell past the intruder and back to the floor, Vaneé's yelling took on a different pitch and something sour pushed itself up into his mouth as he got to his feet and saw the woman stand up, the little girl clutched against her.

"Take a step closer and hold your arm out." Her voice was muffled by the cloth and accented... not really Core, but not Outer Rim either. Gritting his teeth, Luke ignored her and focused on Vaneé.

"You all right, Vaneé?"

"Yes," she squeaked, but she also shook her head 'no', and tear-tracks were already pale silver in the light falling in from the windows and it was _very hard_ to just stand there. He didn't even have a _weapon_...

"She'll be fine. Just give your arm here," the woman snapped, clutching the little girl tighter and Luke shifted half a step closer, anger bubbling in his stomach... Then froze and breathed out slowly as something occurred to him.

He didn't like it, but...

"You will put the girl down," Luke said it slowly, focusing on each and every single word (otherwise he'd get angry again) and the _intent_ in them. The intruder sort of... paused, then twitched her head sharply.

"Nice try, but I took precautions against that, and even if I hadn't... you wouldn't have been able to do that. Finish that step and stick your arm ou---" the snarl cut off in a choked gasp and a loud clang. The woman crumpled, unintentionally dragging Vaneé with her to the floor. Luke stared at Ryoo, who was holding, he realised, the large, decorative metal plate she had on the wall in her bedroom.

Olis had started crying back in Ryoo's room, and Vaneé was as well, kicking herself out of the intruder's grasp and throwing herself at her mother. Ryoo startled when Vaneé hugged her middle and then seemed at a loss about what to do, so Luke shook himself and walked over to them, taking the plate from Ryoo to let her squat down and clutch her daughter to her, muttering softly.

Staring down at the unconscious woman, all Luke could clearly figure out was that it _obviously_ wasn't the redhead from Coruscant. This woman was older, for one, and while she... sort of registered in the Force like he thought Force-sensitives did, it wasn't in the way he'd picked up from the girl or from Ahsoka and Ben.

Squatting down carefully, he picked up the hypospray that had fallen out of her hand and turned it over in his own hands, biting his lip. She hadn't wanted to kill him, he was pretty sure. And while he felt somewhat bad about it, they didn't want her _waking up_ any time soon. So he hefted the hypo and pressed it against her neck, and even the hand that shot out to grab his wrist didn't bend his hand away in time.

Her eyes, barely opening from regaining awareness, widened and then slowly, inevitably, closed again.

Trying to ignore the way his hand trembled a little, he fumbled after her pulse and while he _knew_ she'd just threatened Vaneé in an attempt at trying to drug him and... whatever, he was still relieved to feel it thrum strong underneath his fingers.

"Is she...?" Ryoo asked from where her face was buried in Vaneé's hair, and Luke shook his head.

"Just unconscious. It was some sorta sedative I guess." Staring down at her, Luke tried to rack his brain for what to do next. Of course he needed to leave, but _aside from that_ , he didn't know...

"I'll call the authorities," Ryoo said, standing up, Vaneé still pressed against her, and Luke flew up to his feet as well, shaking his head.

"No!"

"Luke, _what_?! We can't just... do nothing! Or leave her here!" Ryoo pulled her daughter close as if the mere mention of the woman still being in the house would take Vaneé from her, and the girl hiccuped a sob.

"No, we won't I'll... Uh... I'll dump her outside Theed an hour or so away, and then come back for my things!" Nodding, Luke felt pretty pleased by that, though Ryoo was staring at him as if he had gone mad. Then she shook her head sharply, held a hand up and, still half-hugging Vaneé, dashed into her room and came out bouncing her son and kissing his forehead.

"Come back for your things? Luke, what are you planning to do? What will dumping her," here Ryoo paused to nudge the woman with a foot. Vaneé took the chance to _kick_ her, and Ryoo pulled the girl back by an arm, frowning at her, "don't _do that_ , Vaneé! What will dumping her outside Theed do?"

Smiling grimly, Luke shrugged.

"An hour or so by speeder outside Theed will take her a few hours to get back on foot, or at least an hour and more if she finds a lift, and that's _after_ she wakes up. I don't think anyone's gonna be able to hold her..." he glanced down at her, but the impression didn't change; she'd probably be able to get away from whatever cell she'd be locked in, none of them had a clue what she could do. Then he let out his next breath slowly. "And I'm gonna leave, Ryoo. It's clearly me she was after..."

"Luke..." Ryoo stepped close, laid a warm, dry hand on his shoulder and frowned, concern and disapproval loud and clear in the Force. Then he had a little girl wrapped around his waist and Luke had to swallow the sudden pressure down because if he didn't...

"I'll be fine. Can you make sure you get the ship I came with back to the Organas? I... um, kinda took it and---"

A sharp trill from downstairs interrupted him, and Luke laughed, the noise cracking somewhere in the middle while he squatted down to give Vaneé a proper hug.

"I'm okay, Artoo! We all are." 

Kind of, anyway.

"How will you get off Naboo if you don't have a ship? You should let me comm someone---"

"No! I'll... I'll be fine, all right? I don't want anyone else to be hurt."

Ryoo scowled at him and shook her head, and Luke knew he'd have to do this differently than he'd thought, because Ryoo was, clearly, not accepting of his answer. Which was understandable, really, but it didn't help _him_.


	58. The Millennium Falcon I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke leaves Naboo, thanks to a familiar face.

_Differently_ meant levitating his bags down to the ground out the window in his room before he left to dump their intruder somewhere outside Theed. 

_Differently_ meant he convinced Artoo to stay behind to get his bags and Threepio a few streets away from the house, so he could simply park the landspeeder when he came back around half past five in the morning, and eat the breakfast Ryoo had set up. Then, while Ryoo got Vaneé to _finally_ fall asleep again, he left the house after leaving the short holo he'd made with a goodbye note and the information she needed to find the ship at the spaceport.

"Master Luke, where are we _going_?" Threepio complained, and Artoo wasn't particularly quiet either, "and I agree with Artoo; you should wait for someone! This isn't _safe_ , sir!"

Luke shook his head and kept a careful eye on Artoo, keeping Threepio between them. Because at this point he wouldn't put it past the astromech to do something to stop him, and while he didn't want to - wasn't _going to_ leave the droids behind, he also wasn't going to give Artoo the opportunity he was looking for.

"To the cantinas near the spaceport, we need a lift."

Artoo twittered, something sharp and sarcastic even as it was a question, and Luke couldn't help laughing because he'd understood that partly.

"Artoo's right, Master Luke, don't we _have_ a ship?" Threepio sounded honestly confused and he'd also obviously shaved down Artoo's question to its bare meaning instead of including all the... other things Artoo had _also_ said. Luke grinned and shook his head, hefting the larger bag over his shoulder.

"Sure we do, but whoever that woman was, she _knows_ which ship it is, so it's probably better not to take it. Besides, it really should go back to the Organas... and like this it'll be harder for her to follow us." He thought, anyway. He wasn't sure how she'd found him, so hoping that she wouldn't be able to find out where he'd gone now and follow him was maybe too much to hope for. 

Artoo's dubious whistle proclaimed loud and clear what he thought of Luke's reasoning, but he wasn't going to change his mind.

He _wasn't_ , because he'd attempted to meditate before he actually did slip out of Ryoo's house, thinking over his vision. And while what he'd _wanted_ was some reassurance, some confirmation that he'd interpreted this wrong, that something - whatever it might be - had _changed_... What he'd gotten instead was the chilling glimpse of Ahsoka dead on the deck of a ship he didn't recognise.

Hence actually going through with this and discarding the yearning half-desire to let Ryoo comm the Organas so they could get Ben or Ahsoka. Or comm Leia and have _her_ comm her parents. He hadn't even been away _that_ long, and most of the time had been spent here on Naboo, but he already felt tired. 

Exploring the galaxy was still something Luke wanted to do, of course, as well as fly, but the nudging anxieties and the homesickness and having to keep himself moving just made him want to...

Artoo bumped into his leg with a soft, inquiring chirp, apparently delaying any attempt at stopping Luke in favour of letting the young man drop a hand on his dome and sigh. Threepio shuffled along half a step behind them now, muttering quietly to himself about how he'd _just_ gotten used to the yacht.

"I don't know, Artoo... I'm tired. I want to talk to Ben or Ahsoka, but that... that's not a good idea."

Artoo twittered and chirped, his dome twirling, but Luke just rubbed his face and shook his head.

"No. It's _not_ a good idea and doing that... It just won't end well, trust me."

Glancing around the street and at the three cantinas he could see, Luke came to a stop and wondered where to start. He'd have to be careful, for one. While this part of the spaceport proper was no more run down than anything else he'd seen of Theed so far, and he doubted there'd be the same sort of customers in the cantinas of Theed compared to Mos Eisley or even Mos Espa, that didn't mean he couldn't end up choosing the wrong sort of ship and thus crew to charter with.

Frowning and still hesitating, Luke barely paid any mind to the people wandering the street and leaving or entering the cantinas, but when a Wookiee followed a Human man out from one of them, Luke couldn't help his gaze wandering over there. There'd been a few aliens (and definitely a lot of Gungans), but not a _lot_ , and the Wookiee definitely stood out.

... Frowning at the pair, Luke squinted and, after a moment, slowly followed after them, because there was something... familiar about the Wookiee...

Corellia!

Blinking, Luke grinned, if for no other reason that it sure was nice to see the same Wookiee who'd helped him on Corellia _here_ of all places. 

That sure was a... coincidence... 

Eyes narrowing again and making sure to keep them within sight, Luke could practically hear Ben's voice in his head ' _there's no such thing as luck_ '. Hesitating between one step and the next, because what if he'd misjudged the whole situation back on Corellia, what if---

Shaking his head, Luke stopped, closed his eyes and stretched out towards the Wookiee and his Human companion.

He wasn't sure what he'd get for sort of reading, but the Wookiee had helped him once, and there was _no_ reason to think it'd been anything but sincere. Grazing over them, though it was hard with so many people around, there was no oily sensation or dark intent. The closest he could get was annoy---

"Hey, _kid_! What do you think you're doin', following us?"

"Gah!" Jerking back and blinking his eyes open, Luke looked up into a set of annoyed green eyes and below those, an equally annoyed twist to the mouth, underneath which there was a scar on the chin.

"Well?" the man arched an eyebrow, annoyance slowly bleeding away into something that was starting to read like amusement. Luke huffed and shrugged.

"I thought I recognised your Wookiee friend," Luke said and then turned to said being with a smile, "thank you for helping me back on Corellia. I'm Luke. This is Artoo and Threepio." Glancing from the Wookiee to the man, Luke grinned at them both and pointed to the droids in turn, though the Human snorted and gave him a once-over while the Wookiee whuffed, sounding faintly amused.

"Han Solo, and this is Chewbacca," he said and then glanced to Chewbacca, "did you really help the squirt?"

Luke would feel offended he didn't believe him, but kept quiet and instead crossed his arms over his chest and stuck his chin out while Chewbacca groaned and growled.

"You gave him _money_? Look at the kid, he didn't need any credits!"

If Luke wasn't sure that outrage was for Chewbacca having been potentially tricked, Luke would've been far angrier than he was.

"Hey! I did at the _time_! I managed to get to people who knew my father and helped me, but I wouldn't have gotten there if it wasn't for Chewbacca!" Not that he'd known where he needed to go or that ending up on Alderaan would help him, but maybe the Force had had a hand in that, somewhere... It certainly seemed to have had _something_ to do with some of the things that had happened so far, at least, he thought, when it came to meeting Leia and her father that day in Aldera.

Chewbacca chuckled and reached out to ruffle his hair, causing Luke to snort and try to duck away, anger instantly forgotten.

"Oh no, come on now, we don't need any damn _strays_ ," Solo groaned and Luke couldn't help it, he grinned up at the older man before he straightened up.

"I'm not a stray, but I need passage. To Tatooine. Are you taking passengers?" he asked, gesturing to himself and the droids and Solo looked between them, cocking his head as his gaze fell on Luke.

"Well now. Eight hundred, for all three of you."

"Eight---" sputtering, Luke had to collect himself, dropping the bigger bag on the ground to cross his arms again, "that's _robbery_! Two hundred!"

"I don't do charity work here, kid. Six hundred," Solo said, hands on his hips and a very unimpressed look on his face, but Luke just shook his head.

"Three hundred and fifty. We're not _that_ far from Tatooine here!"

There was a pause, Solo and Chewbacca glancing at each other, and Chewbacca rumbled something quietly. Solo snorted and shook his head.

"Five hundred credits. One hundred for you, two each for the droids," he paused, arching an eyebrow, "I don't like droids."

Grimacing and ignoring the twitter from Artoo and Threepio's protest, Luke relaxed to run a hand through his hair, but had to concede it probably wouldn't get much better than that, not if Solo didn't like droids... and he didn't have much choice. He needed to leave, and soon.

He _could_ go looking for someone else, someone who wouldn't mind droids, but there was no guarantee they'd feel like these two did, there was no guarantee that woman wouldn't have gotten back to Theed by then and he'd run into her...

"Okay. Five hundred credits."

"And we're gonna drop out on the edge of the system for some prior business. Gonna take four hours to Tatooine from there."

" _What_?!" groaning, Luke shook his head and grabbed the bag again, hefting it up, "fine, _whatever_. I'll survive."

Solo grinned and even clapped him on the shoulder, giving him a slight push forwards.

"We all will, kid, thanks to you paying for passage."

"Five hundred credits wouldn't even give you a single fuel cell, you know," Luke muttered and rolled his eyes. Solo's grin morphed into a smirk.

"I bet you're gonna claim you can fly, too."

"You _bet I can_!"


	59. Coruscant IX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia's been found out, and gets a comm from Fulcrum regarding our runaway Skywalker.
> 
> It might, however, be too late.

"Leia." Ahsoka, or rather Fulcrum, spoke even before Leia had settled down in front of the holotransceiver, only a few hours after her comm with Luke. 

The fake holo of a cloaked and hooded Human hovered blue above the device, and Leia knew, knew _exactly_ what Ahsoka was going to ask about. Knew, and was torn between feeling relieved that the question was coming and guilty because she wasn't sure if she could keep Luke's confidence now. So she didn't say anything, just laid her hands in her lap and nodded in greeting. 

"I need you to be honest with me; have you been in contact with Luke? Do you _know where he is_?"

The guilt overtook the relief and flushed through her even as she kept her gaze straight on the holo and didn't so much as twitch. Because yes, she had. She'd known where Luke had been the last several weeks, since he left Alderaan... but he'd gotten off Coruscant fine, if not uninjured, and Naboo was safe. Supposedly. Their argument from earlier rang through her head, and she didn't know what to do, now.

She should tell Ahsoka, but he'd been so upset at the thought of Ahsoka or General Kenobi finding him, apparently thinking that it'd get them hurt for some reason. 

At the same time, he'd _gone to Coruscant_ and _someone_ had noticed him, she was absolutely sure since Luke hadn't exactly denied that. He'd just tried to claim no one was looking for him _now_ , and even if they didn't know how or where to look for him right now...

Something pressed down against the back of her head with a tickling, looming sense of imminence.

"I---"

"Leia, this is important. Luke could be in danger, and we really need to know where he is," Ahsoka said, the fake-holo frowning just a twitch - probably not the same sort of fierce frown Ahsoka was _actually_ sporting, Leia could hear it in the tension of her voice, if not the masked modulation of it. 

That sense of huge, expectant inevitability pressed down again, nearly made her breathless. It didn't feel like danger, whatever it was, but Ahsoka's worry, her own growing misgivings, her and Luke's earlier talk, and the presence of that strange thing converged together and Leia bit her lip.

Frowned and worried at her fingers, just a little.

"He... he's _fine_. I promise."

"For _now_ , yes. Leia, you _have to_ tell me where he is, because even if he's fine and safe right now, that probably won't last forever. People are looking for him."

Leia froze as Luke's voice drifted up, his pale colouring (fading desert tan and darkening blond hair, clothed in a pale green tunic and brown pants) overcast by the blue of the holo; _But I'm fine now... no one's looking for me_. She remembered the strange spike that had stabbed through her gut when he'd said that. Dread rose up and rushed through her, turned the sense of expectant inevitability into a spear of glacier ice.

"Naboo," Leia said, slumping a little in her seat before she straightened back up, "he went to Naboo, to see his family there. I mentioned I knew Pooja and introduced them. He should be with his cousin in Theed right now, I think."

At least he'd been just a few hours ago, when he'd commed her, and despite the sudden worry (but what could happen in a few hours?) he'd been perfectly fine then; relaxed and happy and toying with a necklace in his hands - she'd almost wanted to ask, but she figured he'd mention it whenever he was ready. Another twist of anxiety rushed through her, but that was all her own worries; whatever that looming sense of... imminence had been, it was gone now, and she couldn't get it back to examine it closer. 

Didn't really want to, either.

"Thank you," Ahsoka breathed out the two words on a nod, and Leia leaned in.

"You'll tell me if you get him, right? If he's all right? Should I comm him?"

"Sorry, Leia, I don't think it's a good idea if you comm," there was a flash of a smile, "I know you can lie with the best of them, but Luke's got good instincts; he might be able to tell you've told me even if you don't say anything, and then run because he thinks it's the best thing he can do for us. I'll make sure he comms you when I have him, though, okay?"

Leia nodded, once again remembering what Luke had said, being worried about _hurting them_. She shook that thought away, a thanks on her lips but the transmission cut out before she got to say it. 

Giving in to the tension in her gut and limbs, Leia slumped a little, rubbing her face. She should've guessed someone had noticed she was talking with Luke. Someone who, of course, was involved enough with the Alliance they knew to tell her father.

Maybe it _was_ for the best, though...

Briefly, that sensation of inevitability bore down again, larger than the very Galaxy and bearing some sort of promise. It was gone in the next moment, and Leia was left feeling confused and frustrated.


	60. The Millennium Falcon II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Han wonders why Luke wants to go to Tatooine, and the answer first makes a wrong assumption, but makes Luke relax.

Watching Artoo and Chewbacca play dejarik and trying to hide his grin when Artoo proved the better player and upset the Wookiee, Luke tried to actually _relax_ into his seat. But even the distraction of keeping a small piece of some sort of equipment levitating within his cupped hands couldn't quite dispel his worry.

They'd gotten off Naboo. It'd be _fine_.

But what he wouldn't do to actually be able to talk to Ben or Ahsoka...

"So, what do you wanna go to _Tatooine_ for, kid? Not the most pleasant place to visit," Solo said, slumping into the chair by the engineering station, an eyebrow arched. Luke hesitated for half a moment before deciding it ought to be safe and shrugged, closing his hands over the little bit of metal he'd been levitating to catch it when he let go of it.

"It's my home planet. I've got family there. I've been at... elsewhere for a few months and I wanna check up on them," Luke said, trying to ignore Solo's amused smirk at the way he cut himself off and abruptly changed phrasing, but Luke didn't think it was _that_ safe to mention he'd been at the Academy. Solo would probably easily be able to do some math and figure out he'd left when he shouldn't have, and while Luke didn't think Solo _would_ , he still wouldn't give him the information the man could sell him out with.

"You, kid? Don't look like the typical thing you'd find on Tatooine," Solo said, looking him over slowly and then seemed to pause, coming to some sort of conclusion. He then frowned as he continued, "I could drop ya off somewhere else if you wanted to, you know."

Luke blinked at the tone, aware Chewbacca was suddenly looking at him from behind the dejarik table, stalling his move and something stabbed his stomach, with sick slowness and surprised gratification, at the realisation of what... Han's, assumption was. The doubts he'd had, even with the feeling he'd got from Han and Chewie through the Force, settled with the realisation that Han was worried about _slavery_.

He quickly shook his head.

"Moisture farmers! They're my aunt and uncle, Han," Luke said, the name slipping out easily suddenly since his brain had already made the switch. Han didn't seem to notice, but he heard a quiet whuff from Chewbacca.

"You _sure_ , kid?"

And Luke grinned, finally feeling some (if not all) of his tension bleed out of his shoulders and nodded.

"Absolutely. Thanks," he said, smiling again, and Han grunted and stood up, shaking his head as he stomped out of the main hold. Luke hid the rest of his smile behind his hand and felt pretty pleased over his choice in charter.

Even if he was paying (way) too much for it.


	61. Naboo XII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka gets to Naboo. She is too late, but also perfectly on time.

Ahsoka tried not to run the last few steps she had left to reach the door, but every second counted. She already knew Luke was no longer in this house, but he could still be on Naboo. 

Hopefully.

Pressing the doorchime, it took several long minutes before the door opened, and even then only partway. The woman inside - Ryoo Naberrie, if she remembered right - was staring up at her with darkly narrow eyes and her lips pressed together in a stiff line. Ahsoka wouldn't have needed the Force to tell her Ryoo Naberrie was nervous and upset, but the Force told her this with ample clarity.

Silently, she cursed.

"Leia Organa told me where Luke was," she said and watched Ryoo's shoulders droop just a shade, "where's he now? I know he's not in here." It was obvious he wasn't; the young man had been growing quickly during the three weeks she and Obi-Wan had been teaching him, and when he left he'd been like a miniature sun.

She couldn't imagine he'd be anything less now, and wondered why neither of them had thought to teach him shielding, even if they hadn't thought he'd run off on them. Shielding would've been important either way.

"He left," Ryoo said, leaning against the doorframe now as it slid open the rest of the way, "I guess I should just have commed my sister, she'd have known to tell someone, instead of asking Luke if we should comm someone." She closed her eyes briefly and swallowed. Ahsoka beat back impatience and slowly reached out and laid a hand on Ryoo's shoulder, squeezing it.

"What happened?"

She needed to go, and to go _now_. She was undoubtedly at least an hour or two behind Luke, but any information would be useful, and at the moment Ryoo clearly knew what had happened. That meant she had to be patient.

"We had an intruder a few hours ago," Ryoo said, sounding both tired, scared and angry at the same time, "she was clearly after Luke, but she wasn't above using my daughter to make him comply with her... Luckily I think both my daughter and Luke distracted her enough I could hit her with a plate." She smiled then, short and sharp and Ahsoka did as well, squeezing Ryoo's shoulder again.

"He drugged her with the same hypo she'd presumably have used on him, dumped her an hour by speeder outside Theed and then came back..." she paused, rubbing her face, "and apparently decided he couldn't trust either me or another adult enough to get someone else here that could help him. I'm sorry, if I'd actually---"

Ahsoka saw Ryoo's eyes widen, looking over her shoulder, but she didn't need the cue - she felt the slight, sharp flicker in the Force, more intent and awareness than a non-Force-sensitive would present, but not anyone strong in the Force either. Not that they necessarily needed to be to be _dangerous_.

Whirling around, Ahsoka jumped, landing in front of the woman. She snapped her arm out, catching the Human about the chin and sending her crashing to the ground.

"I assume you're the intruder and would-be kidnapper. Care to explain yourself?"

The woman glanced up at her, working her jaw carefully. There was something off about her fair skin, though Ahsoka wasn't sure what - her eyes were pale and she was wearing black, gray and red in a style that prickled at her thoughts, familiar in some way...

"No," the woman said, sounding almost _cheerful_ , then threw something on the ground, causing a cloud of purple smoke to explode upwards. Something which wouldn't really have been an issue if it also hadn't been accompanied by a small surge in the Force, tangling together with the smoke and it took Ahsoka _just_ a bit too long to disentangle herself, both literally and metaphysically.

The street was empty of any strangely-clad, would-be kidnappers when she could look around again.

"Blast it!" She threw her awareness out through the Force, but compared to the little spike earlier, not a single presence stood out now. Ryoo came down the stairs to stand beside her and looked up with a frown.

"I assume Luke went to the spaceport - maybe someone has seen him and overheard where he went?"

"Overheard?" shaking her head, Ahsoka frowned, "didn't he have a ship?"

"He left it behind. Could you... maybe, get it back to the Organas?"

Torn between the desire (and the opportunity) to strangle the boy next time she saw him and some vague admiration for his quick thinking, Ahsoka nodded distractedly.

"I'll arrange it. Are you and your children all right?"

Ryoo smiled, faint and wan, but nodded.

"I'm going to be dealing with nightmares for a while, I think, but no one actually got hurt. This time, anyway... Luke..." Ryoo trailed off, frowning and Ahsoka couldn't do more than shake her head and squeeze Ryoo's shoulder again.

"I might still catch him, with some luck."


	62. The Millennium Falcon III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke's luck runs out, Han and Chewie get in debt, and an Imperial lieutenant ends up very pleased.

He'd went and had a nap in one of the bunks, dropping off while fingering the transceiver and considering making another comm to Leia to tell her he'd left Naboo. He woke up hours later to Han yelling that they were about to drop out of hyperspace, and _briefly_ Luke was very grumpy about being woken up. Particularly since they wouldn't come out of lightspeed close to Tatooine, but hours away by sublights.

But then the thought of _dropping out of hyperspace_ actually dug into his awareness and even if he'd actually seen it a few times by now, Luke had rolled off the bunk and crossed the ship to plant himself in the cockpit so he could see the bluish mottling abruptly turn into the bright smears of starlines and then pinpricks of stars and gas. And, in particular for this system, far in front of them was the sparse asteroid belt that separated Tatooine and the suns from the outer two gas planets.

"So now we just use the sublights the rest of the way?" Luke couldn't help the slightly sharp impatience - he was now so close to being back (something he hadn't ever imagined he'd want), and all he wanted to do was to be able to hug Aunt Beru and, maybe but not really, endure Uncle Owen's reprimands. They'd be followed by a warm hand squeezing his shoulder, though, so there was that.

"You knew the deal when you took passage, kid, so yeah. Four hou---"

Chewbacca groaned something at the same time as the proximity alarm started wailing, and Luke flew out of the navigator's seat to hang between Han and Chewbacca.

"What is it?"

"There's _what_?" Han snapped at the same time and suddenly banked, turning the _Falcon_ sideways to the asteroid belt instead of aiming straight at it. Chewie roared and slapped a spot on the console that was free of any instruments and buttons, but bore a not-insignificant amount of scratches and claw-marks.

" _What_?" Luke tried again, the tension in the cockpit now squeezing around his throat, and he could dimly hear Threepio moaning in the background about being doomed.

"Shut Goldenrod up, kid, or I'll do it for you. We've got a Star Destroyer on us. Need to lose it."

Staggering out of the cockpit reluctantly as the _Falcon_ went into a spin, Luke half-ran into the main lounge and found Threepio on the deck, trapped between the gravity couch and the dejarik table.

"Oh, Threepio. You okay? You need to strap in." Helping the droid up and belting him in, Luke couldn't help his smile as Threepio fretted.

"The ship is going to break down around us, Master Luke! Will this be over soon?"

"Don't worry, Threepio, I think Han's got it. You okay there, Artoo?"

Since his response was a cheery whistle from the astromech maglocked to the floor at the end of the couch, Luke gave him a pat to the dome and ran back to the cockpit. The _Falcon_ shuddered and jerked around him, but the manoeuvring was now easy enough to predict and follow (with the unconscious help of the Force, that was) so he wasn't slammed against the wall every second.

"I thought you said this ship was _fast_!" Luke yelled as he threw himself into the navigator's chair behind Han, right as Chewie slapped a paw down to deactivate the proximity alarm, which still hadn't stopped its wailing. The fact that the captain of the _Millennium Falcon_ didn't whip around to yell at him, merely hissed under his breath, cooled down Luke's snark if not his agitation.

"They've got us boxed in between the asteroid belt and Ohann and its moons," Han grunted and then, under his breath as he leaned forward over the controls towards Chewie and Luke was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to hear; "someone must've dropped the route to save their own skins. We gotta space it."

What "it" was Luke wasn't sure, but he wasn't stupid enough to not be able to _guess_ , and really, he didn't care. Han and Chewie had read as all right to him back on Naboo, and smuggling - if that's what they were doing - didn't affect that assessment. He thought. Maybe. 

Luke, either way, had a greater worry.

"What about _us_?" he cried while Chewbacca got up and gently rested a large paw on his shoulder before he barrelled out of the cockpit, probably towards whatever cargo hold the cargo was in, while Han suddenly dipped them _into_ the asteroid belt.

"Too late to go for the escape pods now, kid, and I'm pretty sure all the nearby moons are uninhabitable _anyway_." He didn't sound entirely unsympathetic, but that didn't really help Luke. At all. 

"If the Imps don't find anything questionable on board, though, we'll be let go. Don't worry," Han said and flashed him a smile over his shoulder while containers of something floated past them, shattering against the asteroids as Han steered them out again... and right into the Imperial cruiser's tractor beam.

Groaning, Luke hid his face in his hands and sunk down in his seat.

Well, maybe there wouldn't be a problem. Maybe whatever records they had - if they'd bothered after he left the Academy, though they probably had, since desertion was a serious issue - wouldn't have reached this far out. Well, 'far out' was relative, since Tatooine was in the Arkanis Sector, but even so, the Empire's presence in the Outer Rim was, after all, marginal at best, and it was just some _massive bad luck_ that they'd gotten caught now. 

So maybe he'd be safe.

Maybe---

_Wait_. 

Flinging himself from his seat while the Star Destroyer locked onto the _Falcon_ and began to draw it in, Luke ran out of the cockpit, ignoring Han's surprised shout.

"Artoo, I need you to come with me!" he yelled over his shoulder as he tore through the ship towards the bunk quarters, nearly upending his carryall in his haste to pull out the items he was pretty sure wouldn't be good for him if they were found. Artoo rolled in behind him, beeping inquisitively, and Luke hesitated, clutching the holodevices.

He didn't want to give these up, even if it was just _temporarily_. But aside from what people had told him, and Artoo and Threepio themselves, this was all he had of his parents. But his father had been a Jedi and Jedi were still considered Enemies of the State, and possession of any information on them was forbidden, as well as spreading it.

The loud, echoing clang that rang through the ship convinced Luke to turn to Artoo, jaw set.

"You need to keep these for me, Artoo. I don't want them to get lost," he said, watching while a hatch on the dome slid back as Artoo twittered in confirmation. 

After a last hesitation, he dropped them in, turning back to his bags and wondering if there was anything else... Briefly his hand rested on his chest, where, under his clothes the necklace hung, but no. He might be giving the holos to Artoo for safekeeping, but he wasn't going to get rid of _that_. 

And anyway, it was a private piece of jewellery, a necklace. What would anyone, even less anyone not from Tatooine, understand of it?

A spot of scuffed black drew his attention to the holotransceiver where it'd fallen between the pillow and the wall and Luke swore, bending over the bunk to get it.

"You, come out and join the rest of the crew," the stormtrooper that appeared in the doorway snapped, and Luke slumped a little, grabbed his bags and followed the man to where Han and Chewie stood in front of an officer by the open airlock. Artoo had the stuff that _really_ couldn't be found with him, and if the _Falcon_ was searched, they probably wouldn't care about a transceiver, and maybe all of this effort wouldn't even be _necessary_. 

Not that that thought helped as he stood on Han's left side while the officer who'd gotten stuck with the inspection went through a list of questions aimed at Han and stormtroopers searched the _Falcon_.

... Maybe the officer would even assume he was another hand on board.

"And what about these two? You've only got one other crew member registered, _Captain_ Solo," the officer said, managing to make Han's title sound like an insult.

"Chewie here is my first mate and co-pilot. The kid's paid for passage to Tatooine," Han said, gesturing at his Wookiee friend. 

And Luke, as he met the dark, deep-set eyes of the Imperial lieutenant, knew he was out of luck. Han hadn't asked for names for any log, and Luke knew that no matter what name he'd give to the officer when he asked, they'd run a standard visual match-search. If there was _any_ sort of arrest out...

"Your name?" Bored, flat and very, very sharp. The officer might be bored, but he was probably already annoyed he hadn't found anything on board and was as such looking for any other angle to satisfy the itch for arrests. Luke took a breath and squared his shoulders. 

An angle that was Luke himself, and Luke _knew it_.

"Luke Skywalker."

His only response was a grunt and the datapad briefly held up in front of him before the officer bent his head over it, and Luke leaned over to tug at Han's sleeve. The Corellian looked down with a raised eyebrow, his eyes narrowed.

"Can you take Artoo and Threepio to my aunt and uncle? They live on a moisture farm outside Anchorhead, beyond Tosche Station. Ask for Owen Lars if you can't find it."

"Kid, what're you even worrying about, you haven't..." Han trailed off, glancing between Luke and the lieutenant, who was now doing his own flickering glance between the datapad and Luke, and Han's eyes didn't just narrow, they darkened with concern.

"Well, well, well," the officer interrupted them, waving a stormtrooper over, "former Academy Cadet Luke Skywalker, you're under arrest for desertion."

Strangely enough, Han suddenly had a hand on his shoulder, squeezing tight, and while Luke certainly _wished_ he could help, he didn't want Han to get in trouble. So he just threw a small smile up at Han and didn't fight as trooper cuffed him and took his bags, just raised his voice so Threepio and Artoo would hear.

"I'll be okay. Take care all right? And listen to my aunt! And tell Uncle Owen he can't wipe their memories, okay?" the last he aimed at Han, who was standing there and looking gratifyingly angry as the stormtrooper grabbed Luke's arm and pulled him away, though Luke had to look behind him and shake his head at Artoo when the little astromech shrieked and tried to get out from Chewie's grip.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Captain Solo. We'll release the tractor beam and let you on your way."


	63. Hyperspace Interlude VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord Vader gets a message. A very, very pleasing one.

_Finally_.

Only the protest of straining metal and plastic made him ease up his grip on the datapad in his hands, taking the words in with a growing impatience. Rereading the short message for the fourth time, Darth Vader balled one hand into a fist. Soaking up the pressure registered, he let it ground him.

Luke was _finally_ in Mar'lath's, if not _his_ , custody, and would be en route for a rendezvous with the _Devastator_ within the hour. After that, it would be another five before the admiral's shuttle and the _Devastator_ would be at the rendezvous point.

And _then_ \---

Closing his eyes, Vader concentrated on his breathing, forcing himself to keep a slow, even rhythm as the respirator wasn't working at the moment, given that he was locked in the hyperbaric chamber. After several minutes, he opened his eyes and focused back on the datapad, noting it had a file attached that he'd missed in his earlier distraction. 

Arching an eyebrow, Vader checked it - and pulled out the small projector he now kept in his meditation chamber as a matter of routine, connecting it to the datapad. 

It wasn't just a holo still or a more or less distant shot from the security cameras around the plaza of the Imperial Palace; it was a fifteen minute long, crisply-clear recording of his son sitting slumped in the chair across from Admiral Mar'lath's desk. The boy sat deep in the chair, staring down at the floor, then shifted upright again, plucking at the edge of a dark green cloak while staring at the admiral from under his lashes - almost seeming to stare directly into the camera from this angle.

The cloak brought associations of himself in Jedi robes, of Padmé in any one of her many cloaks and robes, rich and falling heavily around her. The sharp breath he took in through his nose made it throb, but it was worth it.

It seemed Luke was stubbornly trying to grow his hair out; comparing the holo from the Academy file to the security footage from Coruscant and this recording, it was slowly but steadily getting longer. It was also growing out as it willed on its own, without any proper haircuts to at least assure an even growth. As it was, the child would end up looking like a common criminal with the care he was giving his looks.

While Darth Vader had no opinion on the length of hair - though he was so used to the regulation haircuts of the military by now that anything longer seemed strange - the boy _would_ at least not look like he'd crawled out of a trashheap on Coruscant after he got him in hand.

In the recording, Luke shifted again, looked around the room, sat up straighter for a few minutes then slid down yet again. Finally, after glowering at the floor for another few moments, he looked back up at Mar'lath, who, of course, wasn't visible. There was a definitive scowl, _almost_ a frustrated pout on his son's face, and there was an ache in the upper part of his torso. It thumped along with his heart, driving it deeper in and outwards through his body.

It took effort to ease his grip up on the datapad again.

Just a few more hours.

When the recording ended, he reset it and watched it again, feeling the ache spread up to press against his throat (though it didn't impede his laboured breathing) and weigh down against the back of his eyes.

_Soon_.


	64. Truth Comes Out I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke gets subjected to the waiting game, and finds he doesn't like it much. Is it so much to ask to just be put on trial for his desertion in a reasonable time frame, or what?

Luke had thought one day in a cell onboard the Star Destroyer and then another six hours on a shuttle would be the height of nervous boredom he'd suffer through before he could stop waiting and either have a chance to escape (unlikely) or just let the hammer of Imperial Military Displeasure fall on him.

But that one and a half days of waiting now seemed like nothing, compared to sitting in a chair that ought to be comfortable (it was padded, it had armrests, it had a back), but somehow _wasn't_. 

Maybe the lack of comfort was because he was sitting on the other side of a desk opposite to the headmaster of the Imperial Academies, who, surprisingly enough, had his bags by the desk as well. He hadn't really expected to see those bags again. Maybe the fact that he'd been led in here, asked to sit, and had now been waiting for almost three hours was what did it.

He hoped Han had handed Artoo and Threepio to Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru - a thought he'd already had several times in the hours since he'd been marched out of the _Falcon_ \- though now he realised that what he _should_ have done was ask him to go to Alderaan and give the droids back to Captain Antilles... Even if Artoo claimed he had prior claim to both of them.

He hoped Han and Chewie were alright, even if they _had_ been smuggling.

He hoped Leia was all right, as well as her parents, his aunt and uncle and Ben and Ahsoka.

He...

"Sorry, sir, but what're we waiting for?" He couldn't just _sit here_ and wait, because if they weren't going to have a hearing in the near future, why had they dumped him in here instead of locking him in another cell?

The headmaster of the Imperial Academies looked up from the datapads and the computer's datascreen on the desk and cocked his head.

Luke wondered if his station was what allowed him to keep his muted purple hair, regulation haircut or not, as _purple_ instead of dyed into some closer-to-Human colour. Not that dyeing his hair would've hidden his... Theelin? Luke wasn't sure, blood, considering the scatter of purple patterns and the pale, violet-shaded skin, but _still_.

"A shuttle," Headmaster Mar'lath said coolly, lips slightly pursed, and Luke scowled, "I have a few tasks to complete before I move my presence to Carida, and then we'll leave."

Frustration slipping away into confusion, Luke stared. That was another thing he didn't get - why was the Headmaster of the Imperial Academies not on Imperial Center and instead on Anaxes? Wasn't Imperial Center where he _ought_ to be... though, maybe he already knew why. The Empire's policy - and outright speciesism - against non-Humans was pretty vicious, and Luke had, admittedly, been surprised to see a Theelin, hybrid or not, when he was led in here.

Maybe that was why Mar'lath wasn't on Imperial Center, but was allowed the position of headmaster.

Not that the politics of the Empire interested him much - Luke just wanted to _fly_ , and he didn't have any opinion on beings beside Humans that he didn't have of Humans themselves, but that didn't make the Empire's policies _right_. But it wasn't like _he_ was capable of changing the Empire's speciesism. Stifling a sigh and resisting the urge to slide down in his seat, Luke was left as confused as he'd been before he'd asked.

Why was he going with the headmaster to Carida? Maybe he'd just been unlucky and he'd been brought here in time for the headmaster to be moving base or something, and since the headmaster had to be present for the hearing (he supposed) he'd have to go with him?

"All right," the headmaster said after another ten minutes and stood up, and Luke looked up from staring at the datascreen set into the desk, trying to read what was on the screen. Interestingly, even upside down and at this angle, it was easier than he thought, but not because he could actually _read it_ as it was. He just... knew what was on the screen.

Had Ben and Ahsoka's training helped do that?

"Time to leave." Headmaster Mar'lath stared down at him for several silent moments, and there was a tension that suggested he was going to say something but then he just shook his head, turned off the computer and picked up his datapads, gesturing at Luke to stand up. Doing so, he followed the headmaster, with two uniformed assistants closing up their rear. At least he didn't actually have to carry his own bags as they walked through the corridors; one of the assistants did so, though Luke's amusement at that dried up when they came to the hangar and he realised it was time to board _yet another_ shuttle. 

This was not just nerve-racking, it was getting frustrating and confusing, too.


	65. Truth Comes Out II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke continues to be confused, in-between being angry and shocked when the destination turns out to be something he doesn't expect, and the welcoming committee someone he _also_ didn't expect.
> 
> Darth Vader would feel triumphant, except Obi-Wan always has to ruin everything.

"This isn't Carida." It could have been said with annoyance, or some amount of sass. Luke, instead, was staring flatly at what was definitely not a planet-side hangar but rather the sharp, clean lines of the hangar on a Star Destroyer. Headmaster Mar'lath, standing beside him, glanced down at him and Luke _knew_ he saw a flash of a tiny smile.

" _I_ am going to Carida. I didn't say anything about _you_ ," Mar'lath said with another tiny flash of teeth, amusement clear in his voice now, and Luke stared up at the headmaster and wondered _what in the stars_ was going on. 

Not going to Carida? What was he even _doing_ here, then? 

"What's going on? Why did I get arrested for desertion if you're not going to have a hearing?" Luke asked, hearing a distinctive _whine_ that hadn't been present in more than half a year by now. He couldn't bring himself to care, though, not when the headmaster hadn't exactly been reinforcing military protocol while on the shuttle.

"You did leave the Academy without leave, but I have been instructed to hand you over to another authority," headmaster Mar'lath said, fitting his cap on his head and nodding down the ramp, towards the smallest welcoming committee ever conceived of. 

Said committee crossed the hangar with a single-minded stride that seemed rather like a predator stalking instead of a simple walk. Only the emptiness and size of the hangar disguised the size of him, cloak billowing around his heels, but nothing could disguise the power in the frame or the creeping cold that preceded and surrounded the man. 

Luke stared, and, of course, knew who he was.

Fear, anger and confusion flared up and collapsed in on themselves like an erupting star, and the black helmet was suddenly staring right at him. Luke barely kept himself from taking a step back. 

The Emperor's ghost. 

The Supreme Commander of the Imperial Navy. 

The bane of the Jedi Order. 

His father's killer. 

Unable to look away from the approaching form, Luke swallowed, and all the vague thoughts he'd had of what might happen whenever he confronted Darth Vader disappeared under the weight of the heavy, masked stare.

Luke was standing on the deck of the hangar without memories of having walked down the ramp, his bags by his feet, and the Dark Lord was now standing only two steps away. He barely cleared Darth Vader's shoulder, and was far slimmer than the other. He was supposed to fight _this_?

Not that Ben had, exactly, said that much. Or at all. But the way he'd explained what had happened, how was he _not_ supposed to do it? If he'd even get a chance, now, without a passable weapon and all...

And, again, as Luke gritted his teeth and raised his chin to stare Darth Vader in his masked face, Luke didn't understand how or why he was here. Maybe it didn't matter. All he wanted to do was scream at the man for having killed his father, an outlet he'd never had access to before.

"Luke Skywalker, my lord," headmaster Mar'lath said with a twitch of a bow and took half a step back, "do you need me to remain?" 

"No, Admiral. You may continue to your destination."

Mar'lath bowed and turned on his heel, striding back up the ramp without a second look back, and Luke felt... oddly enough, abandoned.

"Skywalker. Pick up your things." The rumble of Vader's voice brought his attention back forward, and as soon as he'd (reluctantly) bent down and picked up the bags there was a hand around his arm. He was pulled forward, and even trying to dig his heels in for a moment didn't stop the Dark Lord from marching them towards the turbolifts while the Lambda shuttle rose in the air behind them. "Do you know why you are here?"

The question was startling and Luke sucked a breath in, confusion and anger wheeling around him again.

"I didn't think Darth Vader dealt with suspected cheaters and deserters," Luke said, scowling and wondering where those words had come from. Not that he regretted them, even (especially not) when that helmet turned to stare down at him for a moment that stretched into uncomfortable silence.

"No. Usually I do not." The agreement was surprisingly... amused? Luke wasn't sure, but it raked over the memory of Ben telling him what had happened to his father, and he bristled.

"So you're going to finish the job?"

Another long stare, filled only by the sound of the respirator working, and Luke had to focus on walking, because if he didn't he'd stop to try and give Darth Vader a proper glare.

" _What_ 'job'?" Distinctly unimpressed repeat of Luke's word choice, but Luke couldn't care less as he was left sputtering, incredulous.

"Killing me like you _killed my father_!"

It felt surprisingly good to yell that. 

The accusation echoed throughout the hangar, and Luke had a brief moment of feeling satisfied with having gotten to toss his anger right into the Dark Lord's face. So to speak.

It was only a moment, however, because while Vader had once again been reduced to staring, his long strides tapering off until they were standing still, something stirred around them.

Black; rage and hate and incredulity, colder than Tatooine's nights, and it shook Luke right out of his smugness because he suddenly felt like he was choking on it - the dark side? Like Ben mentioned? He didn't have much time to think about that, though.

"OBI-WAN SAID _WHAT_?" The roar rattled through him, wiped out the echo of his earlier anger, and he couldn't _breathe_. 

His vision was suddenly a red haze and his _teeth ached_ as the cold anger bore down around him, the deck under their feet trembling and twisting a little and all Luke could think of was that he hadn't mentioned Ben at all.

"That you killed him," Luke said, teeth gritted against the storm pushing against his body and mind both, not understanding at all. The storm suddenly disappeared with a near-audible _pop_ , and Luke staggered back, but he was quickly hauled back in and then dragged into the turbolift.

Anger forgotten, Luke was left with one thing only as he stared warily up at the Dark Lord from under his lashes and missing his fringe of hair; why was Darth Vader angry that Obi-Wan had told him he'd killed his father? Had Vader not killed any number of beings? Why should he be _angry_ at such a claim?

Again; what was going on?


	66. Truth Comes Out III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth comes out, and there's the typical Skywalker temper present.

Staring down at the boy who was now radiating confusion instead of anger, Vader tried to control his temper and not tear into the turbolift. It was needed to keep them both from falling down the turbolift shaft. Though he could, of course, stop the car if it started to fall.

He wasn't angry that Obi-Wan had told Luke he'd 'killed' Anakin Skywalker. 

Not really. 

The past meant nothing. What he was _angry_ about was that his former master had obviously spun such a tale out of the facts to turn Luke against him. And that. 

That was _unforgivable_ \---

Luke's gaze flickering around the turbolift and the slight whine of protesting metal had him rein himself in again, closing his eyes and clutching his belt.

After a moment, he opened his eyes again and studied the child.

His son.

He'd known the relevant biometric data, of course. Had seen the holo from the Academy files and the others he'd managed to scrounge up over the past weeks many times. 

That wasn't the same thing as this; seeing the boy, slim build, no longer regulation-cut hair that was beginning to get impressively shaggy now almost two months out from having left the Academy. It reinforced his earlier opinion on the need of a haircut. In addition to that, a chin that, if he remembered his own looks correctly, Luke shared with him, and, most painfully, most _precious_ ; a nose that was almost all from his wife.

There was a flash of her in his mind's eye, head tilted down at the same angle Luke's was, curls tumbling around her narrow shoulders--- he pushed the image away angrily, focusing back on the boy.

She had left something behind.

He stared and wished he could actually see the boy's colours. He knew what they were, of course; from the holos as well as the input from the mask, since even if everything was red-tinted, he did have additional chromatic information in the corners of the HUD, in case accurate colour-data was necessary. It wasn't really the same as seeing those same things in person, with his own eyes and without the mask. Something Obi-Wan had deprived him of with his actions.

Obi-Wan, who had told his son he'd killed the boy's father.

The thought was as infuriating as it was _typical_ of Obi-Wan, and he was looking forward to being able to kill his former Master.

First, however, he would correct his son's world-view.

The turbolift ground to a sudden, slightly jerky halt amid a swirl of dark intent and Luke looked up - but the doors didn't open and he nervously took the step back that left him with his back up against the wall, staring up at Vader, who dropped his hand back to his side.

"I didn't kill your father, Skywalker."

The words didn't make much sense. 

Was that why Vader was angry? But no... the Force flickered along the edges of his awareness, and whispered that that was not it. Trying to calm down, get some sort of center and let go of the turmoil bubbling inside, Luke took a breath, biting his lip. He sort of managed to let go of the storm within into the Force, but it was a half-done job at best. He felt twitchy, pressing up against the wall just to have the metal push back against his body.

"You didn't..?" How many more times would people _lie_ to him? Luke wasn't sure yet if it was Vader or Ben who was doing the lying, however.

The helmet tilted slightly forward, as if the Dark Lord was staring him right in the eyes. All Luke had, however, was the heavy swirl of reined-in anger that thrummed through the Force, and underneath that, something faint, unable to be grasped.

"No. Obi-Wan lied to you. _I_ am your father."

What.

"That's..." Luke stared into the mask then dropped his gaze to the floor, and felt like he _couldn't breathe_. That couldn't... (the Force hummed around him, but he couldn't tell what it was trying to say) "that's not..." Nails biting into the palms of his hands, Luke looked back up.

"Search your feelings. Listen to the Force. I know Obi-Wan has trained you enough that shouldn't be difficult for you."

"But..."

_Your father was a navigator on a spice freighter._

Except that hadn't been true.

_Your father was a Jedi._

That was... true? 

Was it really?

"You're Anakin Skywalker?" Luke screwed his eyes closed, fingers and palms all aching, tension knotting his shoulders up.

"That name means _nothing_ to me anymore," Vader growled and the whole turbolift shuddered around them. The Force, meanwhile, yelled denial in Luke's mind loud enough it was hard to hear what Vader... his father? had _actually_ said, and at first he'd thought he'd denied it. 

Except he hadn't.

"That's not true!" the words exploded from him like lava and the turbolift shuddered again, dropped two feet and then jerked to another stop. In the middle of that, Luke wasn't sure whether he was screaming denial over Darth Vader being his father or about Vader denying that the name 'Anakin Skywalker' meant nothing to him anymore.

Maybe both.

"Whether you like it or not, young one, _it is true_ ," Vader rumbled and the turbolift started moving again, smoothly this time.

Luke tried to breathe and felt like his heart was running away from him, trying to escape his body just like he'd want to get out of the turbolift. He closed his eyes again - shut out the dark shadow looming across from him - and concentrated on the tricks Ben had taught him. 

It didn't really work, but he did... sort of... feel marginally better. But the words kept rattling around in his brain and when Vader told him 'come' as the doors opened, Luke stood rooted to the ground until a hand reached for him and he ducked away, unsure he wanted the man to touch him again, and walked out on his own.

_My father is Darth Vader._

There seemed to be no floor beneath his feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess whaaaat, we're done!
> 
> With this first part, anyway. Things are going to be a little slower from here on, because compared to Consequences, where I had a huge chunk already written (long) before I started posting it up, the sequel is very much a work in progress... But I'll start it up when I have a small amount of installments to throw at you, because now we're getting to that part where father and son actually have to _deal with each other_...


End file.
